by Shaun Knittel - SGN Staff Writer

The first federal case to challenge the constitutionality of a Gay marriage ban, Kristin Perry v Arnold Schwarzenegger, will be streamed over the Internet, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughan Walker ruled on January 6.

Over objections of attorneys and supporters of Proposition 8, the voter-approved measure that placed a Gay marriage ban in the California Constitution, Judge Walker said that cameras in the courtroom were appropriate because they will provide the public with an opportunity to see how courts work. Pro-Prop. 8 attorneys objected to videotaping the trial because they say witnesses might be intimidated or harassed. They cited evidence that supporters of Proposition 8 whose names were revealed on the Internet were subjected to harassment.

The governing body for federal courts in Western states recently approved a pilot program that would, for the first time, allow cameras in civil trials being decided by judges. Walker's decision is subject to approval by the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco, California.

Broadcasts of proceedings in the trial, scheduled to begin January 11, will be available on Google Inc.'s Youtube network - after a delay of as long as one day.

"This is a case which merits a very serious consideration for widespread distribution," Walker said during his ruling. "This case deals with important issues that people think about, talk about, debate about, and consider. So I think it's worth trying in this case."

The trial would be the first federal court case in the U.S. to be broadcast.

The trial is the first to question whether bans on Gay marriage violate federal law. Gay couples and the City of San Francisco are suing the state in federal court to strike down Proposition 8, a ballot measure passed by California voters and legalized by the State Supreme Court, that outlaws same-sex marriage in California.

Walker said he did not agree with the concerns that witnesses in the upcoming trial would be harassed or intimidated. Proponents of Proposition 8 organized a multimillion-dollar political campaign to change the California Constitution, he said. "They assumed a public face and a public response in doing so," said Walker.

According to Walker, the faces of witnessed who don't want their testimony broadcast will be blacked out and the cameras could be removed from the courtroom if they prove to be a distraction.

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