Same-Sex Marriage Trial: Gays Face Discrimination

SAN FRANCISCO -A political scientist testifying for the sponsors of California’s same-sex marriage measure acknowledges that gays and lesbians face significant discrimination in the workplace.

Claremont McKenna College Professor Kenneth Miller said under cross-examination Tuesday that he did not know how frequently gay Americans are fired or harassed at work but assumed it happens often.

Miller was called as a defense witness in the trial, the first in a federal court to examine whether decisions by states denying gays the right to wed violate their constitutional rights.

On Monday, Miller testified that the gay rights movement enjoys substantial political power in California that helps shield them from bias.

Lawyers for two same-sex couples suing to overturn the voter-approved ban known as Proposition 8 are trying to prove that deep-suited prejudice motivated the measure.