Gay "Marriage"

Made in 2008 or so, Gay "Marriage" exposes the dilemma of the maddening and unfair paperwork imposed on gay couples who want the same financial rights as heterosexual married couples.   It is a tragicomedy that blends interview and animation to bring to life the horrifying effects of paperwork unfairly imposed on gay couples:  JTROS, taxable gifts, powers of attorney, HIPAA, and more.   

A star-crossed lesbian couple get the romance knocked out of them as they wake up to legal reality.  Music by Mayra Casales.  Running time, 12:13 minutes. 

In July of 2006, when the NY Court of Appeals upheld the law against gay marriage, I was crushed. It was the final straw on the camel who had been limping since our beloved Bill signed the so-called "Defense of Marriage"act.  I was crushed by anger and shame about benefiting from an unjust law just because I am in a heterosexual partnership.  What if I had fallen for a woman?

So many of my friends were hurt by this state of affairs that I offered to publicly divorce my male partner, make a film of it, and start a sort-of boycott by moral heterosexuals.  My gay friends then set me straight on the matter--told me I would be a fool to give up the legal and financial rights.  I really didn't know what they were talking about.

Gay "Marriage", which screened at TrailDance Film Festival and many Living Rooms, shows you what I discovered.  

Followup:  It is fantabulous that states are starting to question the consitutionality of forbidding the marriage of gay people.  Until there is Federal recognition of gay marriage, however, economic injustice prevails.