This exclusive clip from THE GAY MARRIAGE THING (available on home video DVD for $29.95 through The Cinema Guild) gives a voice to those families hurt by former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney. Visit the YouTube page to vote or leave a comment.
THE GAY MARRIAGE THING A SassyMedia documentary directed by Stephanie Higgins
Monday, June 25, 2007
Friday, June 08, 2007
CAST OF “THE GAY MARRIAGE THING” TO MARCH
Boston, MA – As Massachusetts legislators prepare to decide the fate of an amendment allowing a public vote to ban same-sex marriages in the state, the cast of THE GAY MARRIAGE THING will march in the Boston Pride parade with the North Parish of North Andover Interweave Committee. Those marching will include the couple featured in the film and their family. The film, which presents the politics, the piety, and the people embroiled in and affected by the heated debate over same-sex marriage, is in distribution with The Cinema Guild.
The parade will wind its way through Boston ending at City Hall Plaza where THE GAY MARRIAGE THING will be available for sale and the cast and filmmakers, including Director Stephanie Higgins, will be available for questions. “It’s wonderful to attend such a happy and inclusive event,” said award-winning filmmaker and director Stephanie Higgins. “It doesn’t matter who you are or what your family looks like, it’s a space where all are welcome. It’s a great feeling, especially when many of the attendees’ marriages and hopes for marriage remain in limbo on the brink of a very important vote.”
Gayle and Lorre, 30-something college sweethearts who marked their 15th anniversary a year after the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled a ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, are at the heart of this documentary scrapbook. From the protests outside the Massachusetts State House, to the churches of the Rev. Rich Wiesenbach and Carlton Smith, to the historic chambers echoing with State Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein’s perspective, a wide range of voices swirl around Gayle and Lorre as they approach May 17, 2004, the first date same-sex couples could file for marriage licenses in Massachusetts.
“Despite the unknown state of the legality of their marriage,” Higgins says, “Lorre and Gayle are excited to stand with their family and their church. They will march with smiles and Radio Flyer wagon in tow. To quote them in the film, ‘we’re stronger than this.’ And I would add, we all are.”
DATE: Saturday, June 9, 2007
TIME: 12:00 PM (noon)
VENUE: The parade winds through downtown Boston ending at City Hall Plaza where THE GAY MARRIAGE THING will be available for sale and the filmmakers and cast will be available for questions.
DIRECTIONS: http://www.bostonpride.org/parade.php
For interviews or to review the film, contact the director, Stephanie Higgins, SassyMedia, PO Box 132, Belmont MA 02478, 617-821-5590, info@thegaymarriagething.com, or visit www.thegaymarriagething.com
For distribution information, contact The Cinema Guild, 130 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016-7038, 1-800-723-5522 or 212-685-6242, info@cinemaguild.com , www.cinemaguild.com .
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The parade will wind its way through Boston ending at City Hall Plaza where THE GAY MARRIAGE THING will be available for sale and the cast and filmmakers, including Director Stephanie Higgins, will be available for questions. “It’s wonderful to attend such a happy and inclusive event,” said award-winning filmmaker and director Stephanie Higgins. “It doesn’t matter who you are or what your family looks like, it’s a space where all are welcome. It’s a great feeling, especially when many of the attendees’ marriages and hopes for marriage remain in limbo on the brink of a very important vote.”
Gayle and Lorre, 30-something college sweethearts who marked their 15th anniversary a year after the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled a ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, are at the heart of this documentary scrapbook. From the protests outside the Massachusetts State House, to the churches of the Rev. Rich Wiesenbach and Carlton Smith, to the historic chambers echoing with State Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein’s perspective, a wide range of voices swirl around Gayle and Lorre as they approach May 17, 2004, the first date same-sex couples could file for marriage licenses in Massachusetts.
“Despite the unknown state of the legality of their marriage,” Higgins says, “Lorre and Gayle are excited to stand with their family and their church. They will march with smiles and Radio Flyer wagon in tow. To quote them in the film, ‘we’re stronger than this.’ And I would add, we all are.”
DATE: Saturday, June 9, 2007
TIME: 12:00 PM (noon)
VENUE: The parade winds through downtown Boston ending at City Hall Plaza where THE GAY MARRIAGE THING will be available for sale and the filmmakers and cast will be available for questions.
DIRECTIONS: http://www.bostonpride.org/parade.php
For interviews or to review the film, contact the director, Stephanie Higgins, SassyMedia, PO Box 132, Belmont MA 02478, 617-821-5590, info@thegaymarriagething.com, or visit www.thegaymarriagething.com
For distribution information, contact The Cinema Guild, 130 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016-7038, 1-800-723-5522 or 212-685-6242, info@cinemaguild.com
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Friday, June 01, 2007
June 1st: Family Pride Blog Day!
Taffeta and Deadlines
by Stephanie Higgins
Director, THE GAY MARRIAGE THING
November 18, 2003 was the day I was finally the given the right to wrap my friends in taffeta, stuff them in a broiling hall in August and condemn them to Chicken Dancing for the duration of one evening. It was also the day I realized that I could and should have the opportunity to be part of the American Dream. The house, the cars, the kids, the wife. Yes, wife. It hadn’t occurred to me before that day to dream about living in married bliss with the woman of my dreams. It wasn’t an option. Now it is.
That day in 2003 gave me an unexpected passion for this new equal right. This passion carried me into the first Constitutional Convention. With this new gleam of freedom in my eye, I picked up my video camera and began a year’s journey turning the passion for this equal opportunity into my film THE GAY MARRIAGE THING.
The film is completed and on DVD, but the fight continues. And what’s at stake now is higher than before. Not only are there thousands of legally married same-sex couples in Massachusetts whose marriages need to be protected, there are also couples like my girlfriend and I potentially being forced into decisions based on government-imposed deadlines. To quote someone from the film: “That’s just wrong.”
While we are not married, my girlfriend and I enjoy the freedom of opportunity. Along with this option we now experience the pressures of society many straight couples feel. Unjustly added to those pressures is the possibility of a 2008 vote to dissolve this newly created right. If the legislature allows this amendment through, we will be forced to think about a deadline to get married. Again: “That’s just wrong.”
People are supposed to have control over their weddings, within the (sometimes) reasonable confines of the wedding industry. It is unconsionable that many of us have to worry about if we can stay or get married based on the whim of “the people” or the government.
I’ve heard every argument and debate point on both sides. They are all too beaten to death to drag from behind the shed. My only argument and the point of my film is, let’s let love decide.
In the meantime, I’m going to keep fantasizing about those taffeta dresses.
To watch THE GAY MARRIAGE THING trailer visit: TheGayMarriageThing.com
To Read or contribute to Blog for Family Day visit Mombian.com
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