Dr. William Tam, a defendant-intervener and staunch proponent of Prop 8, wanted to be excused from the federal same-sex marriage trial now in progress. It seems he feared for his and his family's life. We can see why. Our sister site LAist has a disturbing letter Tam sent out on behalf of Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in California. Yesterday, during the redirect examination of Yale Professor George Chauncey (an expert on gay discrimination) by SF Deputy City Attorney Therese Stewart, the video taped deposition (from December 1st, 2009) of Tam was shown. Here are some (horrifying) selections:

Question: “And it is your understanding that part of the gay agenda is legalizing underage sex?”

Answer: “Right.” (Page 43 of deposition)

“They lose no time in pushing the gay agenda --- after legalizing same-sex marriage, they want to legalize prostitution. What will be next? On their agenda list is: legalize having sex with children.” (Pro-Prop. 8 email by Tam, page 78 of deposition and full text of email below)

“We hope to convince Asian-Americans that gay marriage will encourage more children to experiment with the gay lifestyle and that the lifestyle comes with all kinds of disease.” (Pro-Prop. 8 media interview by Tam, page 77 of deposition)

“Question: And how did that come to be? How did it come to be that you were part of that debate?