Did anyone watch The Case Against 8 on HBO tonight?

[AlmiraGulch]

I happened to see it was showing so I turned it on.  I hadn't heard of it, but apparently tonight was the premiere.

 

It's a documentary about the rise and fall of Proposition 8 in California, and it featured the two actual couples who were the plaintiffs in the lawsuit to overturn it.  

 

I had no idea (because maybe I'm just slow) that counsel and co-counsel on the case were the two lawyers who argued in front of the Supreme Court during the Bush/Gore presidential campaign.  Meaning, primary counsel in this case argued for Bush in 2000, and co-counsel argued for Gore.  That was incredibly interesting to me.  

 

Also, David Blankenhorn, founder and President of the Institute for American Values, actually changed his mind about the entire issue of same sex marriage literally while on the stand testifying.  That actually happened.  His testimony is not only part of the official court record, but he was in the documentary himself talking about it. 

 

At any rate, it was very well done.  Check it out if you get the chance.  

 

 

[SemiSweet]

That sounds interesting! I've watched a documentary on the churches' role in overturning Prop 8, it was fascinating, and anger inducing for me.

[AlmiraGulch]

That sounds interesting! I've watched a documentary on the churches' role in overturning Prop 8, it was fascinating, and anger inducing for me.

 

Do check it out if you have a couple of hours.  I couldn't turn away, and I knew what happened.  Some of the back stories were very interesting to me.

 

Do you happen to know the name of the one you watched?  I'd like to see that.  

[justasque]

I did not see it (no HBO) but I've read a lot of criticism of it recently, mainly that it's an exercise in self-promotion that ignores the bigger picture of decades of work on the marriage issue and over-inflates the importance of Prop 8. The Windsor case was the landmark case that brought federal rights, and it's Windsor that the various state courts are citing in striking down state marriage bans. Prop 8 was a very limited case that ultimately affected only California and did nothing federally.

Andrew Sullivan has a review worth reading here.  Slate has some critical perspective here.

[AlmiraGulch]

I did not see it (no HBO) but I've read a lot of criticism of it recently, mainly that it's an exercise in self-promotion that ignores the bigger picture of decades of work on the marriage issue and over-inflates the importance of Prop 8. The Windsor case was the landmark case that brought federal rights, and it's Windsor that the various state courts are citing in striking down state marriage bans. Prop 8 was a very limited case that ultimately affected only California and did nothing federally.

 

Andrew Sullivan has a review worth reading here.  Slate has some critical perspective here.

 

Huh.  I didn't view it that way at all.  To me, it came off very much as a documentary on Prop 8 itself. 

 

The Windsor case was woven into this documentary a bit, particularly since it was in front of the Supreme Court the same day as Prop 8, but it really wasn't about the other decades of work.  Rather, it was about those who challenged Proposition 8, specifically.  

 

ETA:  I don't think the finding that Proposition 8 was unconstitutional (by the lower courts, of course) is insignificant, particularly if you want to marry your same sex partner in the state of California, our most populous state.  The ruling directly affected a significant number of people, even if it's the Windsor case that is being cited by other courts for striking down marriage bans in other states. 

 

[SemiSweet]

It was this one, it was on Netflix awhile back, no idea if it still is. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1484522/

[AlmiraGulch]

It was this one, it was on Netflix awhile back, no idea if it still is. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1484522/

 

Thanks!  I'll check it out.