Speak Compassion

The other day I got an email from the filmmaker of what looks like a really great project.  The movie is called “The Gay Marriage Thing” and it chronicles some of the events leading up to the marriage decision in Mass. but also the lives of two individuals and their families.  The filmmaker, Stephanie Higgins, tells me, “THE GAY MARRIAGE THING was made for LGBT people to bring home and watch with their families to aid the sometimes difficult dialog about gay marriage. With California set to make history, one way or another, this November, it’s important that we all continue this conversation with family, friends and co-workers.”

It is distributed by The Cinema Guild and is available for purchase and is available for download through TLA Video.  You can find more information about the film at www.thegaymarriagething.com

The website for the film describes it like this:

Lorre and Gayle were heartbroken when they learned their two great-aunts - sisters who’d lived together their entire 80+ years - were on the verge of losing their 1850’s home because it was too big a burden to care for anymore. “Having to leave your home just because you’re older?” Lorre asks. “After living there 60 years?” Gayle adds. “Unfair,” they agree. So they did something about it. Lorre and Gayle broke their apartment rental lease and moved in with a very grateful Gertrude and Germaine, to be financial, emotional and physical caregivers for their elderly aunts. “We were the Golden Girls for a while there, and we still call ourselves that, even though we lost Auntie Gert last year,” Lorre adds. “But Auntie Germaine is still feisty and we do for her because that’s what we’ve both been taught. You take care of family.”

With that, the first few moments of THE GAY MARRIAGE THING paint a picture of what it means to be a family. Gayle and Lorre, thirtysomething college sweethearts who marked their 15th anniversary a year after the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled a ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, form the heart of this documentary scrapbook.

From the protests outside the Massachusetts State House, to the churches of the Reverends Rich Wiesenbach and Carlton Smith, to the historic chambers echoing State Representative Kathi-Anne Reinstein’s perspective, THE GAY MARRIAGE THING captures how all of these voices swirl in the air around Gayle and Lorre as they approach May 17, 2004, the first date same-sex couples could file for marriage licenses in Massachusetts. While eavesdropping on the emotional and spiritual toll this issue has taken upon all parties, the story carries forth to the everyday angst and anticipation of Lorre and Gayle’s own wedding.

THE GAY MARRIAGE THING is not some historical commentary on gay rights in the United States. It is instead a small cinematic story with big implications. By focusing on one suburban couple and the multitude of events that directly affect that couple’s otherwise average life, THE GAY MARRIAGE THING strives to show a different side of this issue than documentaries or television newscasts have thus far.

With protesters and their colorful signs serving as a Greek chorus, and an array of opinions from church, state, and everyone in between, this is the film that family members can finally watch together. THE GAY MARRIAGE THING is the documentary that opens the dialogue, fully expecting the audience to continue it.

I would suggest spreading the word about this film as it really puts a face and a family to the issues at hand.  People sometimes have a tendency to lose sight of the fact this debate affects not just public policy but living breathing people!  Here is the trailer for the film: