The road to marriage equality was not an easy road. It was a long hard fight that took years to finally achieve. It is easy to look back and forget how far we have come as a nation to get where we are now and forget the struggle that got us here. The new documentary The Freedom To Marry from director Eddie Rosenstein reminds us of all the blood sweat and tears that needed to be spent to earn million of Americans the freedom to marry whom they choose. The story follows Evan Wolfson who is known as the architect of the marriage equality movement. After coming out as a gay man at a young age he starting noticing all the injustices that were happening to others LGBT community and decided to take a stand. He knew one day he wanted to get married and have a family but during the current laws of the land that was still not legal. He decided to take a stand and fought for 34 years to bring to their forefront the issue of marriage equality. This documentary chronicles his work and the work of many others who tirelessly lobbied for gay rights.
The film itself chronicles the year leading up to the supreme court's big decision on gay marriage and along the way, we learn more about the history of the gay rights movement and we get to see first hand in a lot of ways the discrimination that many gay people have had to face. Everything from religious protesters telling a woman that her gay some is perverted to politicians ranting about marriage in the biblical sense belonging to only one man and one woman. We hear from voices on both sides of the argument and even sitting here now thinking about their views and why they felt it is okay to discriminate again some people, while totally choosing to ignore other facts about marriage is beyond me. The even crazier part is watching this and knowing that these crazy people are still out there spewing this non-sense and for what? What is it you are protecting exactly other than your own crazy idea of how things should be? It is sad that we live in a world that can be so easily molded by such small mindedness.
On the flip side of that same coin, we get to see a lot of people struggling for marriage equality for a variety of reasons. Of course, there are the people who want to be able to marry and commit to the person they love, but also there is a couple who wants to be married for the economical benefits as well. And who wouldn't blame them? The film shows us in many ways what hope is all about and what love and determination can eventually create. I hope many people who see this movie can understand that change can take time, but also realize that even if it does take awhile it is still achievable. I think this is an important film for people to watch and truly take in. By the end of the movie, I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little choked up with happiness. Seeing what a huge difference this decision has made to so many people, it is hard not to have a serious case of the feels for this movie.
Rosenstein and Wolfson have put together a truly inspired film that I highly recommend people take the time to see. it is a film about hope, love, and determination and shows just what can be achieved if you really believe in the cause. In our current political climate, I don't think there is a lesson more important than that. This is great for people of all age to watch and understand. We scored Freedom To Marry with an A+.
Don't miss The Freedom To Marry on Video on Demand June 6th!