The State of Marriage

The State of Marriage
Directed by	Jeff Kaufman
Produced by	Jeff Kaufman Marcia Ross
Written by	Jeff Kaufman
Starring	Mary Bonauto Susan Murray Beth Robinson
Music by	Laura Karpman Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum
Cinematography	Daniel Kaufman
Edited by	Asher Bingham
Production company	Floating World Pictures
Release dates	June 18, 2015 (PIFF)
Running time	82 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The State of Marriage is a 2015 documentary film about the origins of the marriage equality movement, focusing on the decades of grassroots advocacy by lawyers Mary Bonauto, Susan Murray, and Beth Robinson and the 1999 Vermont Supreme Court case Baker v. Vermont.^[1][2] The film had its world premiere at the 2015 Provincetown International Film Festival on 18 June 2015.^[3] It is written and directed by Jeff Kaufman, and produced by Kaufman and Marcia Ross.^[4] Funding for the film's post-production and editing work was partially raised through a successful Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign.^[5]

Background

The film depicts the decades-long battle for marriage equality, beginning in Vermont in the 1990s. In 1997, Bonauto, a lawyer at Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), joined forces with two local attorneys, Murray and Robinson, to file a lawsuit against the State of Vermont on behalf of three same-sex couples, Stan Baker and Peter Harrigan, Lois Farnham and Holly Puterbaugh, and Nina Beck and Stacy Jolles.^[6][7] The suit, Baker v. Vermont, ignited state- and nationwide controversy, but eventually resulted in a 1999 State Supreme Court victory and the passage of Civil Unions in 2000, which gave gay and lesbian couples the rights of marriage but not the name.^[8] Still, the bill was a national first, and paved the way for gay marriage initiatives in other states, as well as the passage of full same-sex marriage rights in Vermont in 2009.^[9]

Kaufman was a radio host in Vermont during the initial legal battle, and witnessing the events unfold inspired the creation of the documentary. The film was shot in Vermont between July 2013 and February 2014.^[2]

Cast

Jeffrey Amestoy Stan Baker Nina Beck Rev. Craig Bensen Mary Bonauto Mark Candon Steve Cable Sherry Corbin Howard Dean Diane Derby Ruth Dwyer John Edwards Kevin Ellis Pat Fagan Lois Farnham Peter Harrigan

Eve Jacobs-Carnahan Stacy Jolles Rep. John Lewis Bill Lippert Tom Little Marion Milne David Moats Susan Murray Holly Puterbaugh Beth Robinson Marty Rouse Peter Shumlin Shap Smith Ross Sneyd Evan Wolfson

Reception

The Hollywood Reporter gave The State of Marriage a favorable review, calling it an "indispensable addition to the filmed history of the marriage equality movement".^[10]

References

1. "New Documentary Depicts Vermont Lawyers' Fight For Same-Sex Marriage". VPR. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
2. Kane, Matt. "The State of Marriage in Vermont". GLAAD. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
3. "Gay marriage doc to debut". Times Argus. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
4. "Jeff Kaufman and Marcia Ross of "State of Marriage"". WOMR. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
5. "THE STATE OF MARRIAGE". IndieGoGo. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
6. Garrow, David. "Toward a More Perfect Union". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
7. "EXCLUSIVE CLIP: The State of Marriage". OUT. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
8. Goldberg, Carey. "Vermont Moves Step Closer To Same-Sex Civil Unions". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
9. "Middlebury lawyer Murray is Vt. lawyer of year". WPTZ. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
10. Rooney, David. "'The State of Marriage': Provincetown Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 July 2015.

External links

• The State of Marriage at the Internet Movie Database