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Script 6 William Tam
Script 6 William Tam
Speaking:
DR. HAK-SHING WILLIAM TAM
DAVID BOIES
Props needed:
TWO BOUND GROUPINGS OF PAPERS.
NOTE: SCRIPTS CAN SERVE AS THESE PAPERS.
reenactment Instructions
Thank you for downloading a Testimony script and taking your first step toward reen-
acting an excerpt from Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the federal Prop. 8 trial.
Here’s the deal • Consider the best place and time to do your reenactment.
If you want to draw a crowd, where would be the best place?
• The goal of Testimony is to raise awareness about what
happened at the federal Prop 8 trial and spread the word • Do you know someone who works for local media, such as
to as many people as possible across America. Through a school paper or a TV station? Give them a heads up and
live trial reenactments or forwarding a reenactment video invite them to show up for the filming.
to a friend, anyone can participate.
TO BE READ ALOUD:
Hear ye, hear ye! The following is a re-enactment of Perry v.
Schwarzenegger, the Prop 8 trial heard in U.S. District Court. Dr. Hak-
Shing William Tam, an official proponent of Prop 8, is under cross-
examination by the plaintiffs’ lawyer David Boises. The plaintiffs in this
case are two loving same-sex couples who simply want to marry, just as any
heterosexual couple in America has the right to do.
BOIES:
Oh. And what literature have you read, sir, that says that?
TAM:
Uhm, I've read what is posted here.
BOIES:
And what is it? Tell me what it is that you read.
TAM:
I don't remember now.
BOIES:
Who -- who authored it?
TAM:
Some from…apparently…academic papers.
BOIES:
What academic papers, sir?
TAM:
I don't remember.
BOIES:
Well, do you remember any of them?
TAM:
No.
BOIES:
Was it in a -- a journal, or was it in a book that you read?
TAM:
Some could be news. Some could be from journals.
BOIES:
It could be. I'm not asking you what it could be. You told me you'd read
something that said that homosexuals were 12 times more likely to molest
children. You told me that, right?
TAM:
Yes.
BOIES:
Okay. Now, I'm asking you what you read. Was it a book?
TAM:
I don't remember.
BOIES:
Was it an article?
TAM:
I don't remember.
BOIES:
Who wrote it?
TAM:
I don't know.
BOIES:
Okay, sir. Let me ask you to turn, next, to Plaintiffs' Exhibit 513.
TAM:
Okay.
BOIES:
And this is something that you wrote during the campaign for Proposition
8. Correct, sir?
TAM:
Yes.
BOIES:
And the heading is, "What If We Lose," correct?
TAM:
Yes.
BOIES:
And what you meant was, what if we lose Proposition 8, correct?
TAM:
Yes.
BOIES:
And you say that: "If Proposition 8 does not pass, they," whoever that is,
"will lose no time pushing the gay agenda." Do you see that?
TAM:
Yes.
BOIES:
And you say: "The San Francisco city government is under the rule of
homosexuals." Do you see that?
TAM:
Yes.
BOIES:
Did you believe that, sir?
TAM:
Yes, I believed that.
BOIES:
Who are the homosexuals that San Francisco is under the rule of?
TAM:
Uhm, at that time, supervisor Tom Ammiano was a supervisor there.
BOIES:
And there was also a mayor, right?
TAM:
Yes.
BOIES:
The mayor was a homosexual, was he, according to you?
TAM:
I don't think so.
BOIES:
You don't think so? No, I don't think so either, actually. So if you knew
the mayor wasn't homosexual, why are you telling people in part of the
Proposition 8 campaign that San Francisco is under the rule of
homosexuals?
TAM:
Uhm, well, you see, Mayor Newsom passed out the same-sex marriage licenses
in 2004. And if he is not a friend of them, why would he do that?
BOIES:
When you say that San Francisco was under the rule of homosexuals, did you
mean San Francisco was under the rule of heterosexuals that were friends
of homosexuals? Is that what you meant?
TAM:
Could be.
BOIES:
Could be.
TAM:
Yeah, you know, I'm not a lawyer. I don't write things so specifically,
you know--that well-defined.
BOIES:
Okay.
TAM:
Now you're trying to use your legal arguments to pinpoint me in something
that I said that -- that is sometimes I think it's beyond my original
intent.
BOIES:
Well, let's see, as we go through this, how you use words. You go on to
say that: "After legalizing same-sex marriages they want to legalize
prostitution." Do you see that?
TAM:
Yes.
BOIES:
Did you think the people who were opposing Proposition 8 wanted to
legalize prostitution?
TAM:
Uhm, that was a Proposition K at that time, on the San Francisco ballot.
And I saw several homosexual politicians, they supported that. So I draw
from that-–from their support--that they want to legalize prostitution.
BOIES:
But that didn't have anything to do with Proposition 8; did it, sir?
TAM:
No.
BOIES:
No, it didn't. And you knew that at the time, didn't you? You knew that
Proposition K was entirely separate from Proposition 8?
TAM:
Yeah.
BOIES:
And didn't have anything to do with one another, right?
TAM:
Right.
BOIES:
You knew that?
TAM:
Right.
BOIES:
But, nevertheless, you said: "After legalizing same-sex marriage, they
want to legalize prostitution." That's what you wrote here, right?
TAM:
Yes.
BOIES:
You then go on to say: "What will be next? On their agenda list is
legalizing having sex with children." Do you see that?
TAM:
Uh-huh.
BOIES:
And that's what you told people to try to convince them to vote yes on
Proposition 8, correct?
TAM:
Yes.
engagement Instructions
A successful reenactment will have an audience — “witnesses” to the trial reenactment. In or-
der to have a successful reenactment and turn out a large number of witnesses, you need to set
a goal. After the reenactment, make sure to get signatures of the witnesses, this will all become
part of the story of the trial. Also please be sure to complete the enclosed form so we can grow the
movement. Each trial should set a minimum goal of signatures from 50 witnesses.
1. SET GOALS • Pick out key quotes from the Testimony and paint them
on large posters for all to see.
Just because it’s guerrilla theater does not mean that it’s
poorly planned. We are all actors with purpose. To help your • Grab noisemakers, bells, borrow a friend’s old bullhorn –
production team accomplish your mission, set a few com- don’t be afraid to be heard.
munity engagement goals prior to your reenactment:
• Ask your team to set witness signature goals. Commit to 3. THROW A PARTY!
gathering 50 WITNESS SIGNATURES from your com-
munity – signatures of people who watched your reen- Build community through these reenactments by inviting
actment and agree that Equality should never be put on the production team and witnesses to a potluck or house
trial. Download and print out the WITNESS SIGNATURE party. Here are a few ideas:
PLEDGE form and after each reenactment engage mem- • Host a viewing party;
bers of the audience and ask them to sign the petition in
support of equality. Follow the instructions on the bottom • Have a conversation about equality;
of the form to send your WITNESS SIGNATURES back to
Courage Campaign, so that we can make sure to send a • Talk about what else you can do together to make sure
follow-up message to the witnesses in your community. that this trial lives on;
• Don’t make this a one-time production. Once you’ve put to- • Find out about the next phase of this historic campaign.
gether a production team and scouted a location, it’s easy
to do these reenactments again and again. Consider asking • Have questions? Contact us at
your team to do multiple reenactments each time you go engagement@equalityontrial.org.
out. Set a goal for your team, i.e. “we will keep doing reen-
actments until we collect 20 WITNESS SIGNATURES.”