Hak-Shing William Tam stepped in on behalf of the State of California to be a defendant in the Prop 8 lawsuit after both the Governor and Attorney General refused to act.  Not surprisingly, Tam was also one of the more vocal Californian’s in favor of Prop 8 and has been praised by gay marriage foes for helping to get it passed.

In a filing to the court yesterday, Tam asked a judge to remove him from the lawsuit citing fear of publicity that could endanger him and his family.  He went on to tell the court that he has been harassed and has had his property vandalized during his fight for Prop 8, which made same-sex marriage illegal in the state.

In his filing, Tam told the court “In the past I have received threats on my life, had my property vandalized and am recognized on the streets due to my association with Proposition 8.  Now that the subject lawsuit is going to trial, I fear I will get more publicity, be more recognizable and that the risk of harm to me and my family will increase.”

Some pro-gay marriage folks have speculated that this is a stunt pulled by the pro-Prop 8 camp in hopes of having cameras banned in the courtroom.  They feel that by Tam calling attention to real or perceived threats, the court may decide that broadcasting the trial is a risk to witnesses.  The court is not buying the argument and ruled later Friday afternoon that cameras will continue to be allowed during the trial.  At time of publishing, the court has agreed to a press pool camera, delayed posting to YouTube of the trial and live feeds in other courtrooms throughout the country.

(Photo courtesy Fritz Liess’ photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/fritzliess/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Tags: California, Gay, Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Lawsuits, LGBT, Prop 8, TV, Video, YouTube