Federal Prop 8 defendant Bill Tam wants out - not so fast

Just two days following the approval of the U.S. District Court' s approval of Judge Vaughn Walker's request to broadcast the federal Prop 8 trial on YouTube, one defendant, Hak-Shing William ("Bill") Tam, who has has filed a motion to withdraw from the case.

Citing personal safety reasons and racial discrimination, Tam filed the motion on January 8 to be removed from the defense team. According to the New York Times, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Attorney General Jerry Brown declined to mount a defense on behalf of the state in the case. So Tam jumped in as a volunteer.

In his motion, Tam says, "I am fearful for my own safety and the safety of my family.  In the past I have received threats to my life, had my property vandalized, and I am recognized on the streets due to my association with Prop 8 .. and now that [the case] is going to trial, I fear that I will get more publicity be more recognizable, and the risk of harm to me and my family will increase."

What does Tam consider vandalism?  His tire was punctured in front of his home. 

Although he had no "Yes On 8" sticker on his car, he has a sign on his front lawn, and he claims he saw a young woman trying to remove it.  What happened then?  Tam saw her, and she ran away.  However, Tam says in his motion, "It is my belief that she knew who I was and was deliberately targeting me."

Tam is also apparently scared of comments on a Yes On 8 YouTube post in September 2008 (which seems to have disappeared), in which he was a featured speaker.  Out of 151 comments the video received, Tam refers to only one, which was laced with profanity (unpublishable here) and accused him of trying to "recreate discrimination". 

Tam refers to another comment in a Yes on 8 YouTube video (in Chinese)  calling him a "chink" and saying, "Wow!  A Chinese person commenting on human rights? They kill babies, abuse dissidents, and poison consumers with toxic chemicals in their baby formulas and other milk products.  Get real."

Tam says he is afraid to travel with his family in certain areas of San Francisco, where he is recognized by members of the public.   He admits most who recognize him are friendly, but also those who are unfriendly. 

Tam also asserts in his motion that he "does not like having to comply with discovery requests," calling them "invasions of his personal beliefs."  In short, he says, he "does not like the burden of discovery and the privacy invasion associated with being a defendant"

Finally Tam says he is simply "tired and wants peace to carry on my ministry, and I don't want to be tied down indefinitely with this case" since it could "take several years".

Tam concludes by saying, "there are four other well-qualified and committed Defendants remaining in this case " and that his withdrawal will not "materially hurt" the case.  If Tam's motion is granted, the remaining federal Prop 8 defenders will be Dennis Hollingsworth, Gail J. Knight, Peter Henderson, and ProtectMarriage.com's  Mark A. Jansson

It's not entirely clear what "ministry" Tam is referring to in his motion.  A search of his name on Google did not reveal any type of ministry of which he is a member or founder.

As for the nasty comments, anyone who publishes anything on the Internet that is comment-enabled knows such comments come with the territory (including yours truly).  And he claims he's afraid of a young girl?  Come on, Bill, suck it up and give us all a break if you seriously believe Prop 8 is worth defending.

Click "Subscribe" above to have articles emailed to you.  Your email address will never be shared with a third party.