Judge will unseal Prop. 8 trial recordings

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SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Videotapes of the legal challenge to a California initiative outlawing same-sex marriage will be unsealed at the end of the month, a judge has ruled.

U.S. District Chief Judge James Ware said the public has the right to view the recordings of last year's legal proceedings challenging Prop. 8, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Tuesday.

Ware sided with attorneys for two gay and lesbian couples along with an advocacy group that sought release of the videotapes.

"The public will soon see the extraordinarily weak case that the anti-marriage proponents presented in a desperate attempt to defend this discriminatory law," said Chad Griffin, president of the American Foundation for Equal Rights.

Supporters of the gay marriage ban argued a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that prohibited broadcasting of the trial also covered release of the video recordings.

Attorney Andy Pugno of the anti-Proposition 8 Project Marriage coalition said his group will appeal Ware's ruling.