Kate Kendall talks to the crowd at the benefit while Geoff Kors looks on. Photo by Rink.

In honor of the 4th anniversary of the thousands of same-sex marriages that took place at SF City Hall during the February 2004 Winter of Love, AT&T and PG&E hosted a special screening in Herbst Theatre on Feb. 13 of Geoff Callan’s and Mike Shaw’s award-winning documentary film, Pursuit of Equality: the Unfinished Work of American Freedom. The event featured special appearances by director Callan; SF Mayor Gavin Newsom; California State Assemblymember Mark Leno; NCLR executive director Kate Kendell; Equality California executive director Geoff Kors; and Marriage Equality USA’s Molly McKay. In addition, in attendance there were dozens of couples that were married, as well as the key litigators who have been involved with this marriage equality case. The film is said to be the largest statewide push ever for queer visibility and equality.

“Anyone active in the fight for marriage equality - on either side - will recall the omnipresence of filmmakers Geoff Callan and Mike Shaw (two straight men) during every critical step of this fight,” said McKay. “They have unbelievable inside footage – fantastic reality drama – told by master filmmakers.

This film captures the essence of the fight for marriage equality from all angles.” 

Callan said Shaw was unable to make the event because of illness, but introduced Kors and Kendell. Kors told the bad news, that rightwing groups are being heavily financed with $1 million to put marriage discrimination on the November California ballot. The good news was that pro-equality groups have come from over 22 points behind on the issue in 2000, to dead heat today. He noted that two years ago, over 45 organizations joined together to form the “Let California Ring” campaign to educate Californians about the freedom to marry issue. “We undertook some major, expensive research to find out what messages would work on the moveable middle, and we found that messages about rights and benefits weren’t doing it; but messages about love did make an impact,” Kors said. He said it made sense: one doesn’t want to get married because of hospital visitation rights, but rather because one found a person, fell in love, and wanted to spend the rest of life together. Kors said several hundred thousand new supporters of same-sex marriage have been identified. He screened the latest commercial for equality, depicting a bride being held back by all sorts of circumstances, so she could not reach her groom. The portentous words flashed: “What if you couldn’t marry the person you love?”

Kendell spoke of the exciting upcoming March 4 court date regarding queer marriage. “Sherry Pizer of the City Attorney’s Office will help argue the case in an additional chapter of what our fabulous Mayor Newsom started,” she said. “This will argue affirmatively that lesbian and gay people no longer be excluded from the Constitution, and that we are entitled to full dignity and protection.” She exclaimed, “We can win, and we will win!” She said she wanted to underscore, “Whatever people have been waiting for, whatever shoe you’ve been waiting to drop – it has fallen, and now is the time.” She concluded, “If we can create this climate of inevitability in California, the court will hear that and will respond accordingly.” She begged activists to continue to contribute to equality lobbies. Kendell then introduced Assemblyman Leno, who called Pursuit of Equality “a powerful historical statement.”

He noted that the Massachusetts decision irrevocably changed his mindset regarding fighting a war over words. Not unlike the Hawaii and Vermont Supreme Courts held before the Massachusetts one, the words stated there was no Constitutional basis for discrimination, and that the nation’s history has taught that separate is seldom if ever equal. “But then they went on to say: the only remedy to this identified discrimination is marriage, and marriage alone,” said Leno. “And that no parallel constructs such as civil unions or domestic partnerships will do; because, in their words, ‘Anything short of marriage would perpetuate a destructive stereotype suggesting something inferior and unstable about the way same-sex couples love.’” He chastised Democrats who said it was not prudent at the time to push for marriage equality. He lauded Newsom for keeping the City Hall doors open for queer nuptials during the entire Valentines’ and presidents’ birthday weekend. Leno said he would hold accountable Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s promise to abide by the Supreme Court’s decision – having twice vetoed both State Legislatures’ landmark approvals.

Hillary Newsom, the Mayor’s sister, said she was extremely proud of what her husband and Newsom’s brother-in-law Callan and Shaw had accomplished. She then introduced the Mayor. “When you think about where we are in this building - where 63 years ago this June, the United Nations charter was signed right here - it makes perfect sense that where else but in San Francisco the United Nations would be conceived,” he said. “This city recognizes and celebrates all our interesting differences, but fundamentally reconciles the fact that we are all in this together.” He added, “The City unites - regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation – and defines at its core that it is about bringing people together.” He said, “That’s the value that we proudly share with the rest of the state, the nation, and the world.” He revealed that Pursuit of Equality was never intended to be a film. Newsom said one time he went to dinner with his father, his sister, and his brother-in-law the night before lesbian icons Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon were going to “sneak into City Hall before 9 a.m. to get married, because we thought at 9:01 the courts would shut us down, and we wanted to make sure we could move forward and put a human face on discrimination.” He said Callan video-recorded “an extraordinary life of love, devotion, constancy, and faith that is Phyllis and Del.” Newsom said, “Geoff came to City Hall; started filming; and never left.

To find more information about the film, make a donation, purchase a DVD, or learn how to get involved in the fight for equality, visit pursuitofequality.com.