On April 30, 2014, civil rights attorneys in Cincinnati filed a lawsuit on behalf of six Ohio couples with the goal of striking down Ohio’s gay marriage ban. As if to help us celebrate – or maybe to helps us gird ourselves against what may be about to happen – HBO is bringing a new documentary and an old married couple to Columbus.
The Case Against Prop 8, an HBO film making its Columbus premier this Sunday, June 8, at the Studio Movie Grill Arena Grand (175 W. Nationwide Blvd.), is a story five years in the making. The documentary follows the legal counsel and courageous plaintiffs who took on California’s 2008 ban on same sex marriage, and helped turn a tide in public opinion that may, at long last, begin to equalize Ohioan’s civil rights.
How important was the case to overturn Prop 8? It was big enough to unite Ted Olson and David Boies. Remember them? They were opposing counsel for a little skirmish back in 2000 called Bush v Gore. For Perry v Schwarzenegger, as this case was officially labeled, the two fought on the same side of the courtroom. Proving that civil rights is not a liberal or a conservative fight but a human battle, Olson calls the case against Prop 8 the most important thing he’s done in his legal career and perhaps his life.
Elegant in its understatement, the film sidesteps hyperbole and allows the remarkable dismantling of the discriminatory law to open up on its own. Indeed, the film is moving for all its utter and blessedly boring normalcy, thanks in large part to the couples at its heart. Kris Perry and Sandy Stier – one of those two pairs at the center of The Case Against Prop 8 – will be on hand for the film’s Columbus premier. The couple battled the courts for five years, finally becoming the first homosexual couple to marry in California post-Prop 8.
An award winner at both the Sundance Film Festival and SXSW, The Case Against Prop 8 is the official film of Columbus Pride. The film premiers on HBO June 23 to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling against Prop 8 and the Defense Of Marriage Act.
A 5:30 reception precedes the 7pm screening. Film and reception are free, but space is limited so RSVP is required. RSVP at www.homeboxoffice.com/rsvp/ca8_columbus
A full slate of movie reviews is available on my website www.maddwolf.com. You can also follow me on Twitter @maddwolf and like me on Facebook at facebook.com/MaddWolfColumbus.