When We Rise (2017) s01e04 Episode Script
Part 4
1 Previously on "When We Rise" I lost my lover.
I lost my job and my home.
And hell, yeah, I started using! I finally got my life started.
I got my surgery, even a job at the health department.
I can't take him in right now.
You could have died, Ken.
While you've been raiding the pharmacy, I've been looking for some church folks.
We had a vision about you.
I need help.
Someone like you can't be in here.
I need hands laid on me, y'all.
I'm not gonna sit around and watch you screw up your life! You've screwed it up already.
I mean, two lesbian moms pretending like this is normal, like you're some sort of married couple? These are HIV medications.
- We need to take Courtney.
- No.
No.
Come on.
We have a connection.
This is very wrong.
[Voice breaking.]
No.
President Bush: I call upon the Congress to promptly pass an amendment to our constitution defining and protecting marriage as the union of a man and woman.
What's it like to be part of the first generation in this country that has no purpose? And what are you gonna do about it? Cleve: AIDS opened many gay and lesbian people's eyes to the need for marriage equality, but others had been fighting for it long before that, well before George W.
Bush ushered in bans on gay marriage in another 18 states.
It was Mayor Newsom in San Francisco who surprised the world and began marrying gay couples here in California.
Those marriages were ultimately invalidated, but then our state Supreme Court weighed in.
Today's 4-3 ruling by the California Supreme Court is clear, and it is historic.
Gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry in California.
Cleve: So, for a few months, joy was palpable.
Gay and lesbian couples felt almost equal, almost whole in the eyes of our country.
But the forces of bigotry weren't done with us.
People have a right to marry.
They don't have a right to decide to redefine marriage for the entire state of California or the entire country.
Man: The battle has come down to Proposition 8, which, if passed, will outlaw same-sex marriage.
Prop 8 landed on the same ballot as the historic election of Barack Obama.
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, tonight is your answer.
Man: celebrations in the Castro area in San Francisco.
Woman: You know, those might be the opponents of Prop 8, a ballot initiative to roll back the right to marry.
It's looking mathematically difficult for them to win.
We celebrated with the world the election of the first African-American president, but within hours, it became clear the arc of history might not be so kind to us.
Diane: It's gonna be a long night, okay? Roma.
Ivory Coast still up doing shots for Obama? Yeah, yeah.
They waited till 4:30 to hear his speech.
Listen, Jandro just beeped through.
He's taking Annie to the hospital.
- Oh, my God.
- Mm-hmm.
I'm gonna go.
- Oh, I'll meet you there.
- What? I want to take a shower and You've had a baby.
It It takes a while.
Go.
Hey.
Go be with your daughter.
- All right.
- Don't miss this.
Mwah.
Mr.
Mayor, what you did when you started issuing licenses in City Hall because of all that, 18,000 people got married who never thought it possible.
But now that dream is likely dead for everyone else moving forward.
Man: So it does appear right now almost impossible for Proposition 8 to be defeated.
With 70% reporting, Prop 8 is still ahead by 52% to 48%.
- Any better? - What? No.
Uh, still 52% yes.
85% of Los Angeles is in.
Chad, we brought you into this campaign so late.
And the Mormons, Maggie Gallagher's cronies we were up against millions of dollars of hate.
[Inhales sharply.]
But imagine the message this is sending to kids that are waking up tomorrow, the kids in in my hometown in Arkansas.
"And not only are you second-class, but there is no safe harbor, not even in California," and that It's just It's my fault.
We will not stop fighting.
We will not stop until Proposition 8 is dead, until we have civil rights for all.
This fight may not be over anytime soon, but They put this stage up to keep us quiet in our ghetto.
We should be angry.
We should be protesting.
Where would we march? The straight area? Up to Sunset Boulevard.
Yeah.
9:00 p.
m.
, we march away from this stage.
Let's do it.
Spread the word.
Listen, people, at 9:00, we're gonna turn around, and we're gonna take this out in the streets.
Woman: Once baptized, you must not go back to your old ways.
Do not enter into this promise lightly.
This place and your prayers saved my life.
The rest, I'll just have to learn to live without.
[Indistinct speaking over P.
A.
.]
Roma: Is this the way to the birthing center? Are you a family member? My partner Diane Jones her daughter's having a baby.
Your partner? My domestic partner.
- Can you just tell me the floor? - I'm so sorry.
I have to, uh, call up and get permission for you to be with them.
Give me that.
[Indistinct shouting.]
Man: Prop 8 has passed, and it has triggered massive demonstrations that started in West Hollywood and have spread across Southern California.
Crowd: [Chanting.]
Equal rights! Equal rights! Man #2: I had never felt such a sense of of being less of a person.
[Siren wailing.]
[Chanting.]
What do we want? Equal rights! When do we want it? Now! [Chanting.]
Dan White was a cop! Out of the closets and into the streets! Dan White [Chanting.]
What do we want? Equal rights! When do we want it? [Baby crying.]
- Ooh! - Oh! Oh, sweet Justice.
Sally: [Chuckles.]
I hope she likes her name.
These are Daddy's parents.
[Baby coos.]
[Laughter.]
This is your Grandma Diane.
Hi, Justice.
Oh, she smells so good.
Roma.
Ohh.
This is your Grandma Roma.
Oh.
[Chuckles.]
We are blessed to have a forgiving God.
And we ask you to forgive us of all we have done that was not pleasing in your sight.
[Exhales sharply.]
Victor: What am I supposed to do, okay? What am I supposed to do? - I mean, she's - I'm so sorry.
she's gonna die on me.
- What's going on? - Roma, you know Victor.
He lives down the road from us.
They've been here all night, and his wife's been in my E.
R.
most of last month.
- Are you getting the help you need? - Well, we'd like to My job My job has no insurance.
My wife can't work anymore.
There's only so much we can do.
Talk to Roma.
The rich people come in here sick, okay? They get better, and they go home.
We come in here sick, okay? And we And we die.
Come on.
You're part of the Health Commission.
She has cancer.
Huh? If she had AIDS, you would help her, right? Here, the rich live, the gays live, and we die.
Victor, listen.
I'm the biggest advocate you have on that commission.
How does that matter if you can't or you won't get it done? Because I haven't quit.
Because I haven't quit.
Victor.
[Indistinct conversations.]
Diane: I'm sorry.
It's okay.
These groups like Join the Impact they're using social media to replicate the marches in San Diego and Chicago, Boston.
We need to march somewhere where they don't already agree with us.
Like where? Fresno.
It's It's where I'm raising my kids.
I-It's where we lost by a mile.
- There's gay families there.
- I know.
I campaigned there against Prop 6 before you were even born, but who is gonna drive to Fresno? That's why we need you.
You give the action legitimacy.
[Sighs.]
Look.
[Cup thuds.]
I know this started as a marriage fight, but how does that help LGBT people who are losing their jobs and homes across this country? Hmm? I have a call later with some very influential people in D.
C.
about something much bigger a new legislative strategy to get federal LGBT protections.
It's a civil-rights act.
Those suits in D.
C.
have had their entire careers to pass anything anything for the protection of our people, much less a civil-rights act.
The only thing that they have managed to pass is DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act.
That's why David Mixner is calling for a march on Washington to get those people off their asses.
Even Congressman Barney Frank has come out against a march on Washington, and he is openly gay.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
And he says that the only pressure we'll put on D.
C.
is on the grass? These kids, this new energy they could crack D.
C.
wide open.
Why would you put a lid on that? What I think is that everything has changed, okay? Since this new energy because of Prop 8, we have to give Congress a shot.
But we need your grassroots efforts behind us.
I'm not waiting for Congress.
I want to change Congress.
It was, um, an honor to meet you, Mr.
Jones.
It was, um informative.
[Door closes.]
Woman: So, many black people came to believe that it was acceptable to express homophobia.
- And why is that? - [People murmuring.]
In 1706, colonies passed acts denying that baptism made the slave - Excuse me, sir.
- equal to whites.
That's "ma'am" to you.
And just as child abuse passes from one generation to the next, so does spiritual abuse [People murmuring.]
turning the oppressed into an oppressor, the educated over the under-educated, men over women.
[People murmuring.]
And so just as the baptism of the slave began with the proclamation that they were not to ask for their freedom Woman: My, my! baptisms of gay and lesbians today begin with the call for one to disavow oneself from love and to beg forgiveness.
But we are God's children, and He loves us as we are, as he made us.
We accept You know, they're renting our space once a week to help cover bills, but we aren't to attend their services.
and that we are created in I hope after they go, you might help us cleanse the chapel? This isn't disinfectant.
Say it again, sister.
Blessed water.
Together: God's image! Woman: That's right.
We are created in God's own image.
If God is love and we are created in God's own image, what are we but love itself? [People murmuring.]
Man: Commissioner Guy.
If they have HIV, we provide for their care already and for any other issues.
If they go to the E.
R.
, we already foot that bill.
All right, well, let's hear from the E.
R.
Uh, Diane? Dr.
Katz, you know better than anyone that we can patch them up in the E.
R.
, but we can't do anything about their overall health, so they're right back again every month.
We pay for that revolving door, so why not use that wasted money to ensure a proper healthcare for all of our neighbors, regardless of their gender or their race or their income? - Why not get them healthy? - Okay, Commissioner Guy Why not get them back to work, back to paying taxes? - Commis - I mean, come on! Commissioner Guy, I've advocated for citywide healthcare well before you got here.
Right now, it's not a political reality.
The mayor has his hands full with marriage equality.
So, we want our neighbors to have our backs on marriage equality, - but we won't protect their families? - That's not what - You come from a finance family.
- Yes.
I direct my words at you not because I think you don't get it, but because I know you can build this.
[People murmuring.]
- What's the next thing? - Nurse Week observance.
Fine.
Let's start.
Okay, moving on.
[Paper rustles.]
Roma: So, allow me a moment of personal privilege to say that I'm not someone who will sit on my hands.
I will go around all of you.
Cleve: When I first tried to join the movement, I was told to cut my hair to reassure the Democratic Party.
But when I met Harvey, he told me to shake them all up, to keep them all on their toes.
And the thing is, this generation has grown up with "Ellen" and "Will & Grace" telling them everything is fine.
They They never felt that sting of discrimination like we did, but now that they have, they've reacted with an anger that that stems from self-respect.
Why in God's name would we put a lid on that? [Sighs heavily.]
Oh, Gilbert.
You think we've got one more in us? We better.
I was up all night sewing this damn thing.
Brothers and sisters, Cleve Jones.
[Cheers and applause.]
Every compromise, every delay undermines our humanity.
We must seek nothing less than full equality in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states.
Yeah From Alaska to Florida, from Maine to Hawaii, we must rise up and take our anger and our love and our determination to Washington and demand full equality now.
The time is now! [Cheers and applause.]
People say, "Leave.
" But this is where my family can help us.
They say, "Work more hours," but I work 60 hours a week.
And if I leave, someone else must do my job.
Will you work them until their family dies, too? [Voice breaking.]
Is that San Francisco? Help my family live in this city our home.
Thank you, Victor, for your public comments on citywide universal healthcare.
Next is public works.
[Baby cooing.]
Diane: She's so alert.
Annie: We like our studio apartment.
It's just, with Justice and the fact that we're trying to finish college and teach - makes it tougher.
- Yeah.
And the fact that our landlord raised our rent thanks to the tech invasion makes it impossible.
Oh, he didn't.
Oh, you hear that, Justice? We're losing our city to the techies.
We want to raise Justice near you guys, so we were wondering if we could move back in.
To this house? - Or the - Or the downstairs apartment.
- Yeah.
- When you head off to work in Africa again, then we'd be here to help Roma.
I mean Wow.
Well, you all have been getting along so well now that we're not actually living together.
You sure you want to jeopardize that peace? [Cellphone vibrating.]
Oh, that's you.
Here.
I got her.
Oh, hi, Mitch.
What did you hear from the health commissioners? Woman: It's been wonderful having you here, but we have a few members that have really objected.
We're just gonna have to ask you to find a better home for yourselves.
So, what are they objecting to? Uh I-I'm just sorry it's not working out.
[Sighs.]
What's the matter? Just They need to find themselves a more suitable home.
The Lord will provide for us in a more holy manner.
It's fine, Ken.
Roma: That was Dr.
Katz.
Health Commission says they'll help if I can show them a winning path.
Wow.
That's movement.
It's big.
We'll need the support of the supervisors, so what do you think, Annie? You think your dad will help? You sure you want to jeopardize your peace with a fight that big? Mm.
She's got you there.
[Sighs.]
Fair enough.
You know, you can't always choose your fight, but you have to go with love and defend your ground.
And this is our ground, this home, and San Francisco.
And these are my people in this room and here in this city.
So yes, we we do have to make both work.
So, I'll help you pack.
Will you bring your dad? They tried to lie to us and tell us that people in the heartland, in Iowa, are okay with gay marriage.
The people of Iowa, for the first time in their history - [Coughing.]
- said no to three judges who voted, invented, found a right to gay marriage - Hey.
- Welcome home.
Well, it is about lies.
It's about exposing hers.
But, hey, Julian Bond told me this morning he's gonna speak at the march, which is fantastic.
None of you have any idea who that is, do you? Oh, God.
Yeah.
He's the head of the NAACP.
It's a big deal, but all of these gay groups and civil-liberties groups have come out against our little march in Washington.
They think it's a waste of money and there won't be enough good hotels rooms.
Not kidding.
And they won't be able to control the messaging.
We don't want it controlled.
We want it to worry people who can do something about it.
And we don't need any entertainment crap.
We just need people, thousands of people.
But it's not a rock concert, so if you need inspiration, look to Bayard Rustin and his March on Washington.
They gave the world "I have a dream" without Fleetwood Mac.
Is Fleetwood Mac still a thing? We need a big draw.
I'll see your Julian Bond and raise you Lady Gaga.
What's a Lady Gaga? New artist, big gay following.
If she performs, there will be a big crowd.
No.
No music acts, okay? - Fine.
- [Pen clatters.]
- Then you may as well cancel it.
- Dude, come on.
Hey, this is what it feels like to do something new, okay? It's lonely, and it's tough.
And nobody believes in you until after you've succeeded.
You need to learn that.
I'm going back on the road again tomorrow because old queens go to gay fundraisers all summer long.
So, you get your generation, and I will get mine.
And we leapfrog these supposed LGBT leaders before they miss this moment.
Never quote me on this, but losing Prop 8 could be the best thing that ever happened if we pull this off.
Can you do a speaking tour now? What do you mean? You're not getting any younger.
[Knife clacks.]
You may be all cute and flexible and everything, but I was a twink once, too, you know, kind of the fiercest that the Castro ever saw.
And I led more marches and screwed more men than you will ever lead or screw in your life.
And, yes, my hair might be gray and my face might be worn, but I have more energy in this ravaged body than any of you have in your skinny little limbs combined, and that includes you lesbians.
So, you want to out-march me, you want to out-bitch me, come on.
Who's first? Look.
Clear moments of opportunity like this are rare, okay? Twice I've seen them ripped away by an assassin's bullet and by a plague.
We cannot let this opportunity slip away, too, not again.
- Roma, can you give me a hand? - Yeah, sure.
[Grunting.]
So oh as the President of the Board of Supervisors, I'm gonna need you to make a statement in favor of citywide healthcare.
Oh, come on, Roma.
This is family time.
Now, come on.
Keep moving.
This is heavy.
- You got your end? - Yeah.
We don't have to do it all at once.
We can start with poor people.
Oh, because everybody loves poor people.
We don't even have the union's support on this.
I'll talk to the unions.
Will you make a statement? Fine.
Good luck with the unions.
Give me that.
[Siren wailing, horns honking.]
[Man coughing.]
Get your stuff.
How else are we gonna get on out of here? [Indistinct conversations.]
Welcome to the City of Refuge.
Welcome home.
Holt: Thousands are expected to take part this morning in a march for gay and lesbian rights.
Man: Today they plan to march through the streets of Washington, ending up here at the Capitol, where they are going to demand quicker action from the President.
Cleve: 15 minutes.
15 minutes until the greatest humiliation of my life.
Gilbert: Oh, breathe, girl.
They're coming.
They're coming.
They're just all on gay time.
[Horns honking.]
[Indistinct conversations.]
Shut up and open your banner.
Come on.
Can I get some hands over here? Let's just get it out into the street.
Come on.
Hurry up! - Okay, okay.
- Let's get it out in the street.
Okay, let's spread it out.
[People cheering.]
You ready? Let's march! Holt: Nearly nine months into his term, President Barack Obama today was a target of a huge demonstration in Washington.
Crowd: Equality! Man: When do we want it? Crowd: Now! What do we want? Equality! Man: The President, citing all that he faces now, appealing for more time to deliver on the promises he made.
But today, marchers weren't accepting any excuses.
Homophobia is like racism in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity, and their personhood.
They say that this country is equal, but it is not equal if it's sometimes.
Obama, are you listening?! [Cheers and applause.]
We have existed in every time and culture and land, and we are here today to say we are equal.
We are equal in our ability to form and sustain loving relationships equal in our ability to parent, foster-parent, and adopt [Crowd shouts in agreement.]
equal in our ability to defend our country.
And we are most certainly equal in the eyes of God! And soon, we will be equal under the laws of this land because a free and equal people do not tolerate the prioritization of their rights.
They do not accept compromise.
They do not accept delays.
No more compromise.
No more delays.
We are equal! We are equal! We are equal! [Cheers and applause.]
[Door opens.]
- Hi.
- Chad: Hi.
- Ted Olson.
Sit.
Sit.
- Yes.
How can I help you? [Chuckles.]
I heard a rumor Oh, hearsay won't get you far here.
[Laughs.]
It was at a brunch in Beverly Hills.
I met a woman who knew you and suggested that well, given your history with working with conservative administrations that we may be surprised to hear where you stand on the issue of marriage equality.
You know how wives gossip at those brunches in Beverly Hills.
Well, wives aren't really a considerable part of my world.
[Laughs.]
Sir, a few LGBT leaders are calling for federal equality.
In the face of defeat.
Bold.
Well I've already been asked to join a potential case involving Proposition 8 on the traditional-marriage side.
But if you want to know my own core beliefs, not rumors there is nothing more traditional or conservative than marriage.
And I can't get my head around why we would deny that to anyone.
The question is can you make a legal argument? Because that's the only way to win at the Supreme Court.
And conservative or not, I'm about the most experienced lawyer there is at that court.
And let's not kid ourselves.
You're here because you know the Supreme Court is the only path you have left to put an end to Prop 8 for a generation.
Cleve: You can't wage a war from Palm Springs.
So, for the second time in my life, I packed up the few things I owned and moved back, back to San Francisco.
[Cellphone dings.]
Oh, get in line, honey.
I did have an apartment lined up, but somewhere between Palm Springs and here, the landlord raised the rent through the roof.
Well, welcome to the tech revolution.
You know, there has been more support for federal action since the march, but the people I need are here, so it's back to couch-surfing and looking for a job.
You know, the more things change Yeah.
Or go backwards.
Our coalition is fighting with the unions now over healthcare.
It's ugh.
Well, I still know some of the union folks from the old campaign days.
I plan on offering them the privilege of employing me.
I'm sure I could strong-arm them into having dinner here, if that was helpful.
What? Thought I'd lost all the boys I loved in this city.
Oh, no, no.
Only the good die young.
[Door opens.]
Annie: Look! Do it for grandma, Justice.
Cleve: [Chuckles.]
Isn't she cute? Look! [Laughs.]
You're doing it! - You can walk! - Aah! [Chuckling.]
Oh! It took two years to adopt Max, about four to finalize the adoption with Roxy.
You know, we have a unique understanding for what it means to want to build families and have roadblocks put up at every turn of the way.
While other families are struggling to raise their kids because they can't afford to keep them healthy.
We have the power to change that.
Man: With this kind of coverage means less income for S.
F.
General.
We lose those jobs, those families get hurt.
Where do you take your kids when they get sick? To the E.
R.
at General? - No, of course not.
- No, of course not.
San Francisco General will adapt and maybe get stronger.
[Mid-tempo jazz music playing.]
[Sighs.]
I just don't think we can endorse it.
Even the term "universal healthcare" it's divisive.
Can I take your plate? You know, I've spent my whole life fighting for safe homes, a safe home for women in the first building owned and operated solely by women and then for the gay men when the plague hit and they were abandoned by their families.
So, why not forget what they've called it in the past and call it what it is a home, a medical home, for every single San Franciscan? Every single San Franciscan.
- A medical home.
- Mm-hmm.
And when we win, it will have been the gays working with the union boys that made it possible for the straights to raise healthy kids here.
One struggle, one fight, right, Cleve? One struggle, one fight.
[Cellphone dings.]
Man: I'll drink to that.
[Sighs.]
Your baby face hides your political pedigree.
What do you want exactly? I'm sure you didn't invite me here just to feed me eggs and compliments.
Well, what if we bypass Congress? What if we take Prop 8 to the United States Supreme Court? [Indistinct conversations.]
I'm sorry.
Who do you think you are to take on such a case? As you know, the name of the game of the Supreme Court is five votes.
I assume you think you can get Justice Kennedy.
But what if you're wrong? If the Supreme Court upholds Proposition 8, if they declare their brand of bigotry as constitutional, your naiveté could set us back decades.
I want a civil-rights act that insists the Constitution applies to all people in all matters.
And that juice you keep sipping on, that's actually mine, so I'm gonna leave you with the bill.
- Oh.
I-I'm sorry.
- I-I appreciate your candor.
But before you go, there's someone I want you to meet.
And you might get a kick out of it.
[Telephone rings.]
Cleve: You're kidding me.
Chad: Give it a chance.
Hi.
Ted Olson.
I know who you are.
The thing is, Cleve, I don't think this is about winning 5-4, and it isn't just about winning marriage.
This is about winning every single one of those nine justices that we can.
This is about equal protection and due process.
A Constitution that includes gay people.
Won't this destroy your reputation in your all-boys clubs in D.
C.
? We're not as different as you'd like to believe.
[Scoffs.]
I've been in the eye of the storm, and like you, I believe in something, I do it.
I would not be just some hired gun.
You know who David Boies is.
Of course.
He's the lawyer he beat in Bush v.
Gore, the case that gave us George W.
Bush.
- And thank you for that.
- You're quite welcome.
Ted asked David to argue the case with him.
- [Chuckles.]
- David agreed.
That would be a dream team red and blue going beyond the political divide.
And so I I just drop my legislative strategy, my civil-rights act? That could take decades.
We likely wouldn't live to see it signed.
And I believe the Constitution already says you have every right that every other citizen has.
Everyone will be against this.
I mean [Chuckles.]
they'll they'll say it's too soon, it's not our turn.
Most Americans are against it.
One bad decision by any judge on our way up to the Supreme Court it could be catastrophic.
It's It's insane.
It's radical.
Yeah.
It's radical.
Chad, if you'd read our plan, you know there's an agreed-upon, 25-year, incremental strategy for marriage equality.
But your plan it was made before Prop 8 passed.
It was made before the uprising that followed.
The the world has changed.
With the tsunami of money coming at us from Maggie Gallagher and the Mormons, we should be strengthening our defenses, not incite them more.
We're not trying to leapfrog anybody with this case.
But I would ask that you recognize the energy behind this moment and, with us, help get our truth out.
Lawyer: Those are all of the cases we've lost at the hands of Ted Olson.
He's our enemy, not our leader.
If you move ahead with this, we will release this file to the media.
[Exhales sharply.]
Then, uh then then you should do it.
Someone who's represented all of these conservative cases that would move public opinion in places we we never even thought possible.
Mr.
Griffin, you've been warned.
[Door opens.]
[Door closes.]
That was, uh, almost the entire gay-rights and civil-rights leadership of this country.
So, it's your turn to find support for us now 'cause we're gonna need it.
Roma, I need you to make a statement in favor of our marriage case.
Marriage was constructed to subjugate women.
I know.
I said the same thing in the '70s when the gay-lib kids took over that wedding-cake shop in New York.
But you remember Ken.
Of course.
He got put out on the street when he lost Richard because they weren't married, right? I mean, how many more did we lose because we didn't have the protections of marriage? Or insurance or visitation? Now, that has been such an issue.
Where's your new apartment? Cheers.
- In the Castro.
- Is it expensive? It's small, but I should be able to pay the rent if I can make this union job permanent.
But listen I have a speech on Saturday, and I will talk about your medical home if you give me a marriage quote.
You're barking up the wrong tree.
I'd get us all equal by getting rid of marriage for everyone.
I've got good news.
What's that, hon? - I'm pregnant.
- What? Oh, my God! Congratulations.
- Thank you.
- This is all mine now.
- [Chuckles.]
- [Laughing.]
And And we've decided to get married - Mm-hmm.
- and to have a wedding.
- Really? - Annie: Mm-hmm.
I mean, why not save the money for a college fund? Jandro and I have been together for years.
I'm sick of calling him my baby daddy.
If I could call him my husband, I wouldn't have to explain everything every time.
- Mm.
- Words have meaning, Roma.
I never called you "Mom," so we always had to explain everything.
But now you're "Grandma," and everyone gets it.
The word "married" might mean something, too, more than it used to.
Words have meaning, Roma.
Cheers.
Congratulations.
[Siren wailing, horn honks.]
Woman: We got to get back, all right? Hit it right there in the middle.
[Car alarm blaring.]
Hey! Run! Run! Run! Come on! Hey! Ugh! [Grunting.]
Come on! Run! So, we've got the unions behind us now.
Come on.
The mayor can get the votes we need.
I just need you to bring him down to the women's building.
Roma, it's Annie's wedding day.
I mean, girl, give it a rest.
Annie: He resonates love as he models confidence, balance, integrity.
I picked him because I knew that, no matter what, he'd be a great father.
Annie faces the world with passion and straightforwardness, with our family and our community You got two options jail or church.
You come back to us, you come back to help us.
We ain't got nothing to give, all right? Well, at least you know that.
Woman wants to know her ministry.
What she got to know first is her wilderness.
You know what? Jesus didn't have nothing, either, and he still fed all of those people with just two little fish, right? Mm.
[Chuckles.]
That's it.
We could feed people.
I mean, we know the ones who are hungry.
Well, none of us up in here are Jesus.
You don't trust us with your food? We might have to shut down the meal program for a while.
Wait a minute.
Wait.
Why you in here handing out hope if you ain't got any? You're selling disappointment, and we full up on that.
You know what? You get the hell out of here.
Get out! The Lord says, by testing, you can discern the will of God.
I need to know if this church is true, if there is a God for people like us.
Want to know what I said to myself when I first saw you? I said, "That's my test.
" Good news.
At our church, God gives us 100 new tests every day.
Woman: I'm a diabetic, sir.
I also need pills for depression.
And I couldn't get help anywhere.
But I knew, in your city, if you got HIV, you'd get help.
It's not like you went out and you got it on purpose.
But if I didn't have a clean needle or a condom, that's okay.
And now I got both.
I got HIV, but I also got help so I can finally get better.
[Knock on door.]
Victor, the mayor has agreed to sign the healthcare ordinance.
She died.
- She's gone.
- What? Yeah.
Hey, guys, go upstairs.
What? I'm I'm so sorry, Victor.
I No, no, no, no.
You just you you don't get it, what it is to have a real family, okay? How could you, people like you, huh? Just do me favor.
Just get out of here.
Just just look, just leave us alone.
Just leave leave us alone, please.
Thank you.
Man: In the Supreme Court case that decided the 2000 presidential election, Ted Olson represented George W.
Bush, and David Boies represented Al Gore.
Today the two attorneys join forces to challenge Proposition 8, the California ballot measure that bans same-sex marriages.
So, Olson and Boies taking it to federal court.
Chad: Ted Olson and David Boies are representing Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo and Kris Perry and Sandy Stier.
It does not undermine marriage to extend it to these loving couples.
It affirms marriage.
[Cheers and applause.]
Ted, why do this? Do you have a friend or a family member who's gay? We all do.
These are our neighbors, our co-workers, our teachers, our friends, our families.
And whatever discrimination the state of California now does permit, I can assure you the United States Constitution does not.
Okay.
Now we just can't lose.
[Cheers and applause.]
We turn to San Francisco and the opening day of a trial in the first-ever federal case challenging laws against gay marriage.
Man: Over the next several weeks, the testimony coming from this court might sound like policy and politics, but to many young people out there, this trial will sound more like this "You are not alone.
" Cleve: No federal case starts at the U.
S.
Supreme Court.
First you must survive a district court in your own backyard, with the whole country watching And most importantly, let it be heard that your love is valued.
Marriage is the only institution we have that's about bringing together the two great halves of humanity, male and female, so that children can know and be known by and love and be loved by their own mother and father.
and against an opposition who fought to make sure the world couldn't hear our case.
They've spent millions of dollars in misleading ads in order to pass Prop 8, and now in a court of law they fought to ban cameras.
Don't we deserve to know just exactly what it is that they're trying to hide? When I first met Sandy, I thought she might be the sparkliest person I ever met.
And over time, our friendship grew deeper and deeper.
And after a few years, I thought, "I might be falling in love with her.
" Olson: Sandy, why do you want to be married? Sandy: I want this for us.
And I want our children and our children's children to feel like they can love who they love and be treated fairly.
Can you tell this court your feelings for Jeffrey? I found someone I know I can dedicate the rest of my life to.
And when you find someone that's not only your best friend, but your best advocate and supporter in life, it's a natural next step to want to be married to that person.
The word "marriage" has meaning.
Jeffrey: It symbolizes maybe the most important decision you make as an adult.
Paul: I love Jeff more than I love myself.
And to be excluded in that way is so incredible harmful.
I can't speak as an expert.
I can speak as a human being who's lived it.
Very well.
Cross-examine.
We have no questions, Your Honor.
Okay.
Then we will resume tomorrow.
How can they build a case if they don't challenge us? They hired a first-rate lawyer.
He's got something up his sleeve.
[Indistinct conversations.]
[Sniffles.]
[Voice breaking.]
I'm a woman always have been.
They still put me in that man's cell in jail.
Thought I was gonna die in there.
When Paul came and told me my old partner had died of AIDS, I thought to myself, "This is how I'm gonna die.
" So, I said to myself, if I could survive jail, I was gonna find the salvation that he couldn't.
Where you gonna sleep tonight? Unh.
I don't know.
You don't know? This is not a place for handouts.
It's for you to start helping you.
Why can't they just stay here? We don't have enough beds for them.
There's more hands being held out than hands paying tithes.
We can barely afford this.
What about help from the city? We tried that.
City Hall's got no interest in us here.
- Good to be here.
- Reporter: Mr.
Mayor, I understand you've got universal healthcare in San Francisco.
Tell us about it.
Yes.
Only city in the United States of America that's doing universal healthcare where people are able to get a medical home and a medical card, public, private choice.
We think it's a model program for the rest of the country.
[Knock on door.]
Hey.
Hey.
You do realize we won, right? [Chuckles.]
What's wrong, Roma? This is just how I am when I win.
You should have seen me when we beat Prop 6.
Diane will be back from the Ivory Coast tomorrow.
I'll be fine.
Cleve: So, this is what winning looks like.
Maybe we're here for something bigger than ourselves.
Maybe we were put here to fight.
Cleve: For weeks, dozens of witnesses told the stories of our lives, our families, and our struggle under oath.
Do you know that a majority of courts, as well as a majority of Americans, have ruled there is no right to same-sex marriage? But when their turn came, they called only two witnesses and only one expert on marriage.
It's not that they didn't want expert witnesses of their own here.
They had half a dozen lined up, but almost all of them backed out after their sworn depositions.
You see, it's easy to make statements to the press.
But when you have to defend those opinions under oath, their arguments fell apart.
And all they have left is one expert.
Mr.
Blankenhorn, what is the primary purpose of marriage? Well, the anthropologist Strauss once described marriage as a social institution with a biological foundation.
We reproduce sexually.
Cleve: Oh, Maggie made it.
And there is only one institution that brings together all these dimensions, and that would be the institution of marriage because we know how important this is for the children.
Your Honor, no further questions.
Thank you.
Mr.
Blankenhorn, have any of the scholars you've relied on said that permitting same-sex marriage will cause a reduction in heterosexual marriage? That is a "Yes," "No," or "I don't know.
" I believe that some of the scholars that I have cited have asserted that permitting same-sex marriage would contribute to the de-institutionalization of marriage.
One of the manifestations of that would be to lower the marriage rate among heterosexuals.
But I do not have sure knowledge that, in the form of the words that you're asking me to use, that they would have made the assertion that permitting same-sex marriage would definitely, directly lower the marriage rate among, uh, heterosexual couples.
[Spectators murmuring.]
If I were to interpret that as an "I don't know" [Laughter.]
Your Honor, I can restate it for you.
The the record is is clear.
I've felt this way before.
It's just, I always thought I wasn't cut out for winning, so I kept fighting.
Well, you've earned a break.
That's about all I've earned.
I helped build this city.
I can't afford to live in it if I retire.
Well, I'm not leaving.
My family's here.
What? What do you expect me to say? Well, I-I don't know, but maybe not, "See you later, Roma.
" - But, no, technically - Well, I Technically, I am a renter, so go.
- Oh - Go stay with your family.
- You'd really leave? - I don't know, but I'm I'm kind of waking up here and going, like, "What?" - if any of this is actually mine.
- Roma, what is this? And I I hate that I'm asking that, but I am.
Mom, she's not going anywhere.
She's in love with my kids now.
I can't afford to live here, Annie.
You bought a four-story building when you were a kid.
You have never freaked out about money your entire life.
Give me a break.
What is it? You don't love me anymore? - Roma? - Oh, God.
I get it.
What? What what what do you get? I think you need to propose to her, Mom.
You might not buy it 'cause neither did I but it's not just a word.
And I know better than you two on this one.
You got to propose, Mom.
It would be the politically correct thing to do.
Who knows if the if the courts would even let us.
Yeah.
Right.
Okay.
Yeah.
Okay.
I'm not wearing white.
Blankenhorn: There are eminent scholars that have argued Boies: Sir, on page 300, you said you're basing your analysis Oh, oh, this I see.
This this is the the "got you" moment, right? Because I said the word "transmitter" at your deposition.
Let me have a look at your own words.
"I assure you these are not my own conclusions.
I am a transmitter of these eminent scholars.
" Mr.
Blankenhorn, do you believe that permitting gay and lesbian couples to marry would improve the well-being of those gays and lesbians and the children they're raising? And I'm asking for your conclusions, not other scholars'.
I believe that adopting same-sex marriage would improve the well-being of gay and lesbian households and their children, yes.
Thank you.
And in 2007, you wrote a book, and in your book, you wrote, "I believe that today the principle of equal human dignity must apply to gay and lesbian persons.
" And then you say, "We would be more American " emphasize "more.
" "We would be more American on the day we permitted same-sex marriage than we were on the day before.
" And you wrote those words three years ago.
I wrote those words.
And you believe them now, today? That's correct.
Thank you.
Your Honor, Mr.
Blankenhorn's testimony was utterly unnecessary.
Every state and society for the millennia has attempted to channel naturally procreative sexual conduct Walker: Let's just say that I agree the state's interest is procreative.
How does permitting same-sex marriage adversely affect that? My answer is [Sighs.]
I don't know.
I don't know.
[Breathes deeply.]
Ken: You know what? On second thought, type "Ken Jones heard that you were commissioner, so he came down here to see if they really gave your spicy ass such a respectable position.
" Cecilia: What? Oh, my God! Ken! - Oh, my God! Ken! - Yeah.
Your spicy ass.
- Oh, God! - [Both laugh.]
Aah! Oh, my Look at you, Commissioner Chung.
[Exhales sharply.]
I need your help.
You It's about damn time you finally realized that.
- Come here.
Come here.
- Oh, my God.
[Laughs.]
Olson: I think the people's eyes are being opened.
People are becoming more understanding and tolerant.
The polls tell us that.
But that does not justify a judge to say, "I really need the polls to be a few points higher before I break down this discrimination.
" And I submit, at the end of the day, "I don't know," with all due respect to Mr.
Cooper, does not cut it.
It does not cut it.
When you are taking away the constitutional right to privacy, liberty, association, and sexual intimacy from a large group of individuals, that is not acceptable under our Constitution.
And Mr.
Blankenhorn is absolutely right the day that we end that, we will be more American.
Cleve: It took months for the judge's decision to come in, but when it did, each side was given the news one hour before the public in case anything needed to be done to prevent riots.
[Door opens.]
[People murmuring.]
Chad we won.
We won big.
Olson: The judge gave us the Constitution.
- [Laughs.]
- No, no, no, don't kiss me.
Please.
You're not my type.
[Cheers and applause.]
Reporter: Supporters of same-sex marriage cheered today's decision declaring that Proposition 8 to ban gay marriage is unconstitutional.
Wolfson: This case will certainly be appealed.
Meanwhile, it's important that the rest of us who believe in fairness make the same case for the freedom to marry in the court of public opinion that the lawyers made in the court of law.
Well, I think it will be up to the Supreme Court, and I do not think they have five votes for it.
Chad: If we can win at the Supreme Court now, we could have marriage in all 50 states.
But the justices don't live in a bubble.
If we don't show them we've won the hearts and minds of everyone Republicans, Democrats, North, and South then we could lose the entire nation.
These numbers will demonstrate the thousands of meals that we've served and the beds that we've provided at the City of Refuge Church.
But we're running out of money, and that puts our people back on the streets.
Now, before you say anything, I know that this is not up to city requirements.
It's just, you know, there's been so much bad done in the name of "God.
" I can assure you this is not that God.
And I'd hate to have to share how you forced a black, HIV-positive, trans-inclusive church to close because you didn't have a few more numbers.
Okay, I hear you.
I hear you, both of you.
Well, you seem very calm for someone who just got strong-armed.
Can I tell you something? Diane and I engaged.
- What? - I know.
Can you believe it? - Congratulations.
- Oh, no, no, no.
It's a political thing.
And please don't tell anyone.
We're don't want to make a big deal out of it.
So, do us right, and we'll keep your dirty little secret, hmm? Reporter: Passed by Congress Cleve: In the year we waited for our case to make it to the Supreme Court, on the other side of the country, a second case started making its way, too, a case challenging DOMA itself, the Defense of Marriage Act.
Reporter: It's being challenged by 83-year-old Edie Windsor of New York.
When her spouse, Thea Spyer, died and left her the estate, she got a tax bill for $363,000.
If the federal government had recognized the marriage, it would have been zero.
The Windsor case challenging DOMA is that a threat to your case? Windsor isn't suing a state.
She's suing the federal government.
That includes President Obama.
Windsor must have bigger balls than all of us if she's suing the President.
Obama could have ignored your case.
He can't ignore hers.
I mean, isn't the question now, will he defend DOMA? If we can get the first African-American president to come out and support marriage equality Cleve: Chad had been an aide in the White House.
He returned as part of a coalition, alongside all of those who had been against our case, because if you could get the President, you move the numbers.
You move the numbers, you might convince the Supreme Court.
Hi.
Did you write the President, too? I did.
We did.
We asked him, uh, to help it make it so that kids of, you know, two moms or two dads that one day that their parents can get married, too.
Why can't they get married now? You know, that's a very smart question.
That's exactly what I want to ask him.
People are being denied a right that this court has said 14 times is fundamental.
Is it your position that, in 1848, the framers of the 14th Amendment contemplated same-sex couples? That very same argument was made in Loving vs.
Virginia with regard to people of different races - having the right to marry.
- [Cellphone vibrating.]
Ginsburg: Okay.
So, let's say that DOMA is constitutional.
Is there any argument that Prop 8 isn't? I can't accept that, but the government may have something in its head about DOMA that makes this a different case from, say, Robbie's Defense of Marriage Act case.
No one has ever articulated a legitimate reason why only gay married couples should be taxed on the assets they accumulate together.
Are are we only looking at this estate-tax issue of yours? Everyone agrees.
The IRS says same-sex married couples would receive the same benefits, - except that DOMA prevents that.
- [Cellphone dings.]
So, if I marry my cat, the government should give me tax credits? It's based on conduct, not status.
No.
I'm not touching my cat.
I'm just married to it.
[Laughter.]
[Sighs.]
If you make this just about a tax bill, your argument is so narrow, that even if you win, most states are still gonna be able to ban gay marriage.
With all due respect, you're shooting for the cheap seats.
DOMA is far from narrow.
It involves more than 1,100 federal rights and duties, from Social Security to healthcare to taxes.
You're arguing for marriage in all 50 states.
It's so broad.
Your arguments are so broad, we could end up with nothing.
My client is Edie.
She lost the love of her life, and that injury was met with an unjust tax bill.
When the country meets her, they'll want even more for her and the rest of us like her.
This is about Edie for me.
Did you get the President? We have one Republican senator.
- [Sighs.]
- And Clinton and Biden are in, but it's an election year.
It's a bigger risk for the President.
You boys might find my approach narrow, but my case puts us in a position to demand the President take a side, and I can assure you I won't let him off the hook just because this is an election year.
[Cellphone vibrating.]
Oh.
Hi, Roma.
Hi, sis.
What's wrong? Listen, I don't want you to feel bad about saying no.
It's a lot, and it might be really short notice based on the courts, um Oh, God.
What did you do? No, no, no.
No, no.
The Supreme Court.
Uh, Diane and I [voice breaking.]
are getting married.
Um I mean, depending on what the courts say.
[Sighs.]
Right.
Right.
Well, I'd like to come.
Don't you still believe in Heaven and Purgatory and all that? I mean, how would you reconcile that? You're my sister.
I put that away.
Listen, if you win this, I-I'd like to be there.
Okay.
Thank you.
Bye.
[Exhales sharply.]
What's wrong? Now I'm afraid we might lose.
[Chuckles, sniffles.]
Aww.
Thank you.
Woman: Those in favor of providing funding for the City of Refuge Church, raise your hand.
Cleve: The decades of struggle for our lives, our families, a God, a home now it was for all of the "us-es" out there, one struggle, one fight.
With what you got for us today, we'll build a stronger church.
I'll give you all I got.
Amen.
[Chuckles.]
Come here.
And now it's done, you still call every day There truly is a God for us.
- [Engine starts.]
- I never have an answer - I never seem to be there for you - [Car door closes.]
[Car alarms blaring.]
President Obama: Over the course of several years, as I talked to friends and family, when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed, monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, at a certain point, I've just concluded that, um, for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that, uh, I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.
Reporter: The President said Williams: The court has taken on two cases here from opposite ends of the country, and their rulings will stand as the law of the land.
- [Cheers and applause.]
- Man: Both of them come here as public support for same-sex marriage is growing a different political climate than just four years ago, when Prop 8 became law.
Hi.
My name is Ken.
I'm from Bobbie's church.
I-I'm sorry.
You're her Okay, first off, don't call him a her, all right? Matter of fact, you show that disrespect in front of his mama, I'll show you how a man gets down in this family.
You listen.
Bobbie was a she when she walked this earth, and she'll be a she when she's laid to rest.
And we'll defend her to the grave for that right.
Let's go.
Your Honor, we are saying that the state's interest in what we have framed as responsible procreation - is vital.
- But suppose the state said the focus of marriage should be procreation.
Are we not giving marriage licenses to couples where both the man and woman are over 55? I can assure you there are not a lot of children coming out of those marriages.
[Laughter.]
Scalia: When did it become unconstitutional to exclude homosexual couples from marriage? 1791? When? When did it become unconstitutional to prohibit interracial marriage? Don't give me a question to my question.
The case before you is whether or not the state of California can take a clear class of individuals based upon their distinguishing characteristics and remove from them their right to privacy, liberty, association, spirituality, and identity that marriage gives them.
Well, that's really [Sighs.]
That's quite a broad argument, particularly in this case, Mr.
Olson, don't you think? Quite broad.
Ken: When I'm there in the City of Refuge Church it's like my heart and soul found one home.
This family is in mourning Ken: and filled with a lot of fear.
They would trust you.
And I believe if we work together, we can help them through these challenges.
Clement: With respect, Justice Kennedy, that's not right.
No state loses any benefits by recognizing same-sex marriage.
Ginsburg: They're not a question of additional benefits.
I mean, they touch every aspect of life.
You're saying, "No, there are two kinds of marriages the full marriage and then a sort of skim-milk marriage.
" - [Chuckles.]
- [Laughter.]
Scalia: But if we do this for New Yorkers, don't we have to do it for every state - because of equal protection? - No.
These broader questions, they would be a different case, more similar to the Prop 8 case.
But no one in either case has identified any legitimate difference between gay married couples and straight married couples that can possibly explain this sweeping, undifferentiated, and categorical discrimination.
And I would respectfully contend that this is because there is none.
Rather, as the title of the statute makes clear, the Defense of Marriage Act was enacted to defend against gay people, a discriminatory purpose rooted in moral disapproval.
84 senators 84 based their vote on moral disapproval of gay people? What is true, Your Honor, is that times can blind and that, back in 1996, people did not have the understanding they have today.
So, there's been this sea change between now and 1996? I think, with respect to the understanding of gay people and their relationships, yes, there has been a sea change, Your Honor.
Yes.
[Charles Bradley's "Let Love Stand A Chance" plays.]
Woman: Bobbie Jean Baker served God and community well and faithfully and was a pioneer in this inclusive movement.
[Congregants shout.]
Whereas Minister Bobbie Jean Baker lived in such a manner to touch each and every one of us with her example of love and acceptance.
All: Amen! - Love a chance - We love you, Bobbie Jean.
- I been thinking about you so long - You will be missed.
[Congregants shout.]
But time just slip away Man: There is no gay in a real black man.
No real black man is a homosexual.
[Chuckles, sniffles.]
We are so, so good at funerals, kid.
[Laughs.]
But marriage, huh? Marriage is a ministry, too.
I'm going to Washington when a decision comes.
I want you with us.
Let's be clear.
They're arguing that every state must allow same-sex marriage, even though some believe it is harmful.
And there's no scientific answer yet to that question.
There is substance to the point that sociological information is new.
We have five years of information on gay marriage to weigh against 2,000 years of history.
But there's an immediate legal injury here at least, what could be considered a legal injury and that's the voice of these children.
Briggs: You normal people who have the children, who take the burden of having children and raising children, do you want a sexually disoriented person teaching your child? There are no human rights to corrupt our children.
We're concerned about how it's going to affect children and our children's children.
Kennedy: There are some 40,000 children in California that live with same-sex parents.
And they want their parents to have full recognition and full status.
The voice of these children is important in this case, too, don't you think? Your Honor this democratic debate, which is roiling across this country, it is a political question, not legal.
And we would submit to you that that question is properly answered by the people themselves, Your Honor.
Man: It was Justice Anthony Kennedy who said, "You're asking us to go into uncharted waters.
" He said, "I wonder if the Supreme Court should have - even taken this case now " - Will you listen, please? My entire life, I have heard arguments that we somehow harm children, and today I heard a Supreme Court justice flip that argument on its head.
The rest is noise.
It doesn't matter the outcome.
We've already won because you dared to stand up and fight.
Stephanopoulos: Good morning, America, and, this morning, history at the Supreme Court.
The justices will make their landmark rulings on same-sex marriage and gay rights.
Thousands already outside waiting for the decisions.
[Cheers and applause.]
Woman: Thank you.
[Cheers and applause intensify.]
Many times in the history of our country, the question of my inalienable rights has been brought before this court.
No matter the outcome We made it.
we will not surrender.
[Sighs.]
We will come back again and again and again Get out of here.
You got a case to win.
- [Cheers and applause.]
- Mm.
- until we - Go on.
Go on.
[Cheering.]
My ancestors stood in this same spot, and I can hear their voices.
I can feel their blood cry up from the ground, and they sang a song.
Ain't gonna let nobody turn me 'round Turn me 'round Turn me 'round After the California Supreme Court held that limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples violated the California Constitution, state voters passed a ballot initiative known as Proposition 8.
Same-sex couples who wish to marry filed suit in federal court challenging Proposition 8 Turn me 'round, Turn me 'round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me 'round Ken: You've missed so much, Michael.
You missed music the joy.
You missed the love.
[Exhales sharply.]
Remember what I once told you, that the ones who make a big show of it are the ones in trouble? Boy, was I wrong.
It's the ones who stood up, they were the strongest the best of us.
I need you to do me one favor.
If you see an old queen up there by the name of Richard who likes to roller-skate tell him I miss him, too.
Woman: We have some breaking news out of the Supreme Court.
Stephanopoulos: We do have the breaking news right now from the Supreme Court, last day of the session.
They have handed down the decision on the Defense of Marriage Act.
I want to go right to ABC's Terry Moran at the court.
Terry? All right, George, colleagues inside have told us that that Defense of Marriage Act has been ruled unconstitutional.
[Cheers and applause.]
Stephanopoulos: We do now have the decision on Proposition 8? The original ruling, which struck down Prop 8, will stand, and that will mean that gay couples in California will be able to marry.
- [Cheers and applause.]
- Yes! Yeah! Yeah! [Cheers and applause.]
I got to go! I got to go! - Is there a victory rally? - How should I know?! I got to buy a damn dress! Yes! Man: A victory for Edie Windsor of New York.
We won everything we asked and hoped for.
Woman: Now we will be married, and we will be equal to every other family in California.
So, today is a good day.
It's the day I finally get to look [voice breaking.]
at the man that I love and finally say, "Will you please marry me?" Man: Bless me Bless me Oh, Lord, bless me indeed Enlarge my territory Oh, God Bless me indeed - Oh, happy day - Oh, happy day - Roma! - You have the keys, right? - Oh, happy day - Oh, happy day - When Jesus washed - When Jesus washed - When He washed - Oh, when He washed - When Jesus washed - When Jesus washed - He washed my sins away - No other human ties are more tender and no other vows more important than the ones you are about to pledge today.
All the rallies, all the marches every single moment was not only for the equality, but was for the moment to be able to say, "I do.
" In accordance with the laws of the state of California and the powers that are vested in me, it gives me great honor to pronounce you spouses for life.
[Cheers and applause.]
- He washed my sins away - He washed my sins away - Ohhhh, happy, happy, happy day - Oh, happy day - Oh, happy day-y-y-y - Yeah, yeah, yeah [Cheers and applause continue.]
Officiant: "I, Roma Guy " Roma: I, Roma Guy " take you, Diane Jones " take you, Diane Jones " for my lawful wife " for my lawful wife " to have and to hold from this day forward " - Wait.
Hey.
- They could drop dead - if they wait any longer, Annie! - [Laughter.]
Annie: I have something I need to say.
I just [Sighs.]
I have wasted so much time being ashamed and hiding who we really are.
But you have been the ones who have shown me what loves looks like and how powerful it is.
And it's because of your example that I am able to give and receive the love that I can.
So, thank you for sharing this with us.
Thank you for this precious family.
- Oh! - [Cheers and applause.]
Officiant: Not yet.
Not yet.
- Oh! Okay.
Not yet.
- [Laughter.]
- Not yet.
Not yet.
- All right.
- And now - [Laughs.]
Roma and Diane, I pronounce you spouses for life! [Cheers and applause.]
Whoo! Oh, hey! Thank you.
Thank you.
[Laughs.]
[Cheers and applause.]
Your fighter's heart finally feeling something? [Sighs.]
No.
There's too much left to fight for.
[Sighs.]
I do feel a little different.
[Both chuckle.]
I mean, maybe it's my turn to fall in love again.
- Who knows? I mean - Yeah.
stranger things have happened, right? [Sniffles.]
[Both laugh.]
I joined gay liberation when I was 17.
And I never believed that I would be alive to see this decision today.
And the journey, the struggle, it's certainly not over.
But I think we've done a remarkable job of changing the hearts and the minds of the American people.
Man: Honey, come on.
Let's go.
Cleve: So, I would give the credit not only to my own community, but to the rest of the country.
I mean, I've seen people in my own family change.
I've seen people change right across this country.
And it is making us a better country and a better people.
Said, I'd love to change the world [Engine starts.]
Ohhh But I don't know what to do
I lost my job and my home.
And hell, yeah, I started using! I finally got my life started.
I got my surgery, even a job at the health department.
I can't take him in right now.
You could have died, Ken.
While you've been raiding the pharmacy, I've been looking for some church folks.
We had a vision about you.
I need help.
Someone like you can't be in here.
I need hands laid on me, y'all.
I'm not gonna sit around and watch you screw up your life! You've screwed it up already.
I mean, two lesbian moms pretending like this is normal, like you're some sort of married couple? These are HIV medications.
- We need to take Courtney.
- No.
No.
Come on.
We have a connection.
This is very wrong.
[Voice breaking.]
No.
President Bush: I call upon the Congress to promptly pass an amendment to our constitution defining and protecting marriage as the union of a man and woman.
What's it like to be part of the first generation in this country that has no purpose? And what are you gonna do about it? Cleve: AIDS opened many gay and lesbian people's eyes to the need for marriage equality, but others had been fighting for it long before that, well before George W.
Bush ushered in bans on gay marriage in another 18 states.
It was Mayor Newsom in San Francisco who surprised the world and began marrying gay couples here in California.
Those marriages were ultimately invalidated, but then our state Supreme Court weighed in.
Today's 4-3 ruling by the California Supreme Court is clear, and it is historic.
Gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry in California.
Cleve: So, for a few months, joy was palpable.
Gay and lesbian couples felt almost equal, almost whole in the eyes of our country.
But the forces of bigotry weren't done with us.
People have a right to marry.
They don't have a right to decide to redefine marriage for the entire state of California or the entire country.
Man: The battle has come down to Proposition 8, which, if passed, will outlaw same-sex marriage.
Prop 8 landed on the same ballot as the historic election of Barack Obama.
If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, tonight is your answer.
Man: celebrations in the Castro area in San Francisco.
Woman: You know, those might be the opponents of Prop 8, a ballot initiative to roll back the right to marry.
It's looking mathematically difficult for them to win.
We celebrated with the world the election of the first African-American president, but within hours, it became clear the arc of history might not be so kind to us.
Diane: It's gonna be a long night, okay? Roma.
Ivory Coast still up doing shots for Obama? Yeah, yeah.
They waited till 4:30 to hear his speech.
Listen, Jandro just beeped through.
He's taking Annie to the hospital.
- Oh, my God.
- Mm-hmm.
I'm gonna go.
- Oh, I'll meet you there.
- What? I want to take a shower and You've had a baby.
It It takes a while.
Go.
Hey.
Go be with your daughter.
- All right.
- Don't miss this.
Mwah.
Mr.
Mayor, what you did when you started issuing licenses in City Hall because of all that, 18,000 people got married who never thought it possible.
But now that dream is likely dead for everyone else moving forward.
Man: So it does appear right now almost impossible for Proposition 8 to be defeated.
With 70% reporting, Prop 8 is still ahead by 52% to 48%.
- Any better? - What? No.
Uh, still 52% yes.
85% of Los Angeles is in.
Chad, we brought you into this campaign so late.
And the Mormons, Maggie Gallagher's cronies we were up against millions of dollars of hate.
[Inhales sharply.]
But imagine the message this is sending to kids that are waking up tomorrow, the kids in in my hometown in Arkansas.
"And not only are you second-class, but there is no safe harbor, not even in California," and that It's just It's my fault.
We will not stop fighting.
We will not stop until Proposition 8 is dead, until we have civil rights for all.
This fight may not be over anytime soon, but They put this stage up to keep us quiet in our ghetto.
We should be angry.
We should be protesting.
Where would we march? The straight area? Up to Sunset Boulevard.
Yeah.
9:00 p.
m.
, we march away from this stage.
Let's do it.
Spread the word.
Listen, people, at 9:00, we're gonna turn around, and we're gonna take this out in the streets.
Woman: Once baptized, you must not go back to your old ways.
Do not enter into this promise lightly.
This place and your prayers saved my life.
The rest, I'll just have to learn to live without.
[Indistinct speaking over P.
A.
.]
Roma: Is this the way to the birthing center? Are you a family member? My partner Diane Jones her daughter's having a baby.
Your partner? My domestic partner.
- Can you just tell me the floor? - I'm so sorry.
I have to, uh, call up and get permission for you to be with them.
Give me that.
[Indistinct shouting.]
Man: Prop 8 has passed, and it has triggered massive demonstrations that started in West Hollywood and have spread across Southern California.
Crowd: [Chanting.]
Equal rights! Equal rights! Man #2: I had never felt such a sense of of being less of a person.
[Siren wailing.]
[Chanting.]
What do we want? Equal rights! When do we want it? Now! [Chanting.]
Dan White was a cop! Out of the closets and into the streets! Dan White [Chanting.]
What do we want? Equal rights! When do we want it? [Baby crying.]
- Ooh! - Oh! Oh, sweet Justice.
Sally: [Chuckles.]
I hope she likes her name.
These are Daddy's parents.
[Baby coos.]
[Laughter.]
This is your Grandma Diane.
Hi, Justice.
Oh, she smells so good.
Roma.
Ohh.
This is your Grandma Roma.
Oh.
[Chuckles.]
We are blessed to have a forgiving God.
And we ask you to forgive us of all we have done that was not pleasing in your sight.
[Exhales sharply.]
Victor: What am I supposed to do, okay? What am I supposed to do? - I mean, she's - I'm so sorry.
she's gonna die on me.
- What's going on? - Roma, you know Victor.
He lives down the road from us.
They've been here all night, and his wife's been in my E.
R.
most of last month.
- Are you getting the help you need? - Well, we'd like to My job My job has no insurance.
My wife can't work anymore.
There's only so much we can do.
Talk to Roma.
The rich people come in here sick, okay? They get better, and they go home.
We come in here sick, okay? And we And we die.
Come on.
You're part of the Health Commission.
She has cancer.
Huh? If she had AIDS, you would help her, right? Here, the rich live, the gays live, and we die.
Victor, listen.
I'm the biggest advocate you have on that commission.
How does that matter if you can't or you won't get it done? Because I haven't quit.
Because I haven't quit.
Victor.
[Indistinct conversations.]
Diane: I'm sorry.
It's okay.
These groups like Join the Impact they're using social media to replicate the marches in San Diego and Chicago, Boston.
We need to march somewhere where they don't already agree with us.
Like where? Fresno.
It's It's where I'm raising my kids.
I-It's where we lost by a mile.
- There's gay families there.
- I know.
I campaigned there against Prop 6 before you were even born, but who is gonna drive to Fresno? That's why we need you.
You give the action legitimacy.
[Sighs.]
Look.
[Cup thuds.]
I know this started as a marriage fight, but how does that help LGBT people who are losing their jobs and homes across this country? Hmm? I have a call later with some very influential people in D.
C.
about something much bigger a new legislative strategy to get federal LGBT protections.
It's a civil-rights act.
Those suits in D.
C.
have had their entire careers to pass anything anything for the protection of our people, much less a civil-rights act.
The only thing that they have managed to pass is DOMA, the Defense of Marriage Act.
That's why David Mixner is calling for a march on Washington to get those people off their asses.
Even Congressman Barney Frank has come out against a march on Washington, and he is openly gay.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
And he says that the only pressure we'll put on D.
C.
is on the grass? These kids, this new energy they could crack D.
C.
wide open.
Why would you put a lid on that? What I think is that everything has changed, okay? Since this new energy because of Prop 8, we have to give Congress a shot.
But we need your grassroots efforts behind us.
I'm not waiting for Congress.
I want to change Congress.
It was, um, an honor to meet you, Mr.
Jones.
It was, um informative.
[Door closes.]
Woman: So, many black people came to believe that it was acceptable to express homophobia.
- And why is that? - [People murmuring.]
In 1706, colonies passed acts denying that baptism made the slave - Excuse me, sir.
- equal to whites.
That's "ma'am" to you.
And just as child abuse passes from one generation to the next, so does spiritual abuse [People murmuring.]
turning the oppressed into an oppressor, the educated over the under-educated, men over women.
[People murmuring.]
And so just as the baptism of the slave began with the proclamation that they were not to ask for their freedom Woman: My, my! baptisms of gay and lesbians today begin with the call for one to disavow oneself from love and to beg forgiveness.
But we are God's children, and He loves us as we are, as he made us.
We accept You know, they're renting our space once a week to help cover bills, but we aren't to attend their services.
and that we are created in I hope after they go, you might help us cleanse the chapel? This isn't disinfectant.
Say it again, sister.
Blessed water.
Together: God's image! Woman: That's right.
We are created in God's own image.
If God is love and we are created in God's own image, what are we but love itself? [People murmuring.]
Man: Commissioner Guy.
If they have HIV, we provide for their care already and for any other issues.
If they go to the E.
R.
, we already foot that bill.
All right, well, let's hear from the E.
R.
Uh, Diane? Dr.
Katz, you know better than anyone that we can patch them up in the E.
R.
, but we can't do anything about their overall health, so they're right back again every month.
We pay for that revolving door, so why not use that wasted money to ensure a proper healthcare for all of our neighbors, regardless of their gender or their race or their income? - Why not get them healthy? - Okay, Commissioner Guy Why not get them back to work, back to paying taxes? - Commis - I mean, come on! Commissioner Guy, I've advocated for citywide healthcare well before you got here.
Right now, it's not a political reality.
The mayor has his hands full with marriage equality.
So, we want our neighbors to have our backs on marriage equality, - but we won't protect their families? - That's not what - You come from a finance family.
- Yes.
I direct my words at you not because I think you don't get it, but because I know you can build this.
[People murmuring.]
- What's the next thing? - Nurse Week observance.
Fine.
Let's start.
Okay, moving on.
[Paper rustles.]
Roma: So, allow me a moment of personal privilege to say that I'm not someone who will sit on my hands.
I will go around all of you.
Cleve: When I first tried to join the movement, I was told to cut my hair to reassure the Democratic Party.
But when I met Harvey, he told me to shake them all up, to keep them all on their toes.
And the thing is, this generation has grown up with "Ellen" and "Will & Grace" telling them everything is fine.
They They never felt that sting of discrimination like we did, but now that they have, they've reacted with an anger that that stems from self-respect.
Why in God's name would we put a lid on that? [Sighs heavily.]
Oh, Gilbert.
You think we've got one more in us? We better.
I was up all night sewing this damn thing.
Brothers and sisters, Cleve Jones.
[Cheers and applause.]
Every compromise, every delay undermines our humanity.
We must seek nothing less than full equality in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states.
Yeah From Alaska to Florida, from Maine to Hawaii, we must rise up and take our anger and our love and our determination to Washington and demand full equality now.
The time is now! [Cheers and applause.]
People say, "Leave.
" But this is where my family can help us.
They say, "Work more hours," but I work 60 hours a week.
And if I leave, someone else must do my job.
Will you work them until their family dies, too? [Voice breaking.]
Is that San Francisco? Help my family live in this city our home.
Thank you, Victor, for your public comments on citywide universal healthcare.
Next is public works.
[Baby cooing.]
Diane: She's so alert.
Annie: We like our studio apartment.
It's just, with Justice and the fact that we're trying to finish college and teach - makes it tougher.
- Yeah.
And the fact that our landlord raised our rent thanks to the tech invasion makes it impossible.
Oh, he didn't.
Oh, you hear that, Justice? We're losing our city to the techies.
We want to raise Justice near you guys, so we were wondering if we could move back in.
To this house? - Or the - Or the downstairs apartment.
- Yeah.
- When you head off to work in Africa again, then we'd be here to help Roma.
I mean Wow.
Well, you all have been getting along so well now that we're not actually living together.
You sure you want to jeopardize that peace? [Cellphone vibrating.]
Oh, that's you.
Here.
I got her.
Oh, hi, Mitch.
What did you hear from the health commissioners? Woman: It's been wonderful having you here, but we have a few members that have really objected.
We're just gonna have to ask you to find a better home for yourselves.
So, what are they objecting to? Uh I-I'm just sorry it's not working out.
[Sighs.]
What's the matter? Just They need to find themselves a more suitable home.
The Lord will provide for us in a more holy manner.
It's fine, Ken.
Roma: That was Dr.
Katz.
Health Commission says they'll help if I can show them a winning path.
Wow.
That's movement.
It's big.
We'll need the support of the supervisors, so what do you think, Annie? You think your dad will help? You sure you want to jeopardize your peace with a fight that big? Mm.
She's got you there.
[Sighs.]
Fair enough.
You know, you can't always choose your fight, but you have to go with love and defend your ground.
And this is our ground, this home, and San Francisco.
And these are my people in this room and here in this city.
So yes, we we do have to make both work.
So, I'll help you pack.
Will you bring your dad? They tried to lie to us and tell us that people in the heartland, in Iowa, are okay with gay marriage.
The people of Iowa, for the first time in their history - [Coughing.]
- said no to three judges who voted, invented, found a right to gay marriage - Hey.
- Welcome home.
Well, it is about lies.
It's about exposing hers.
But, hey, Julian Bond told me this morning he's gonna speak at the march, which is fantastic.
None of you have any idea who that is, do you? Oh, God.
Yeah.
He's the head of the NAACP.
It's a big deal, but all of these gay groups and civil-liberties groups have come out against our little march in Washington.
They think it's a waste of money and there won't be enough good hotels rooms.
Not kidding.
And they won't be able to control the messaging.
We don't want it controlled.
We want it to worry people who can do something about it.
And we don't need any entertainment crap.
We just need people, thousands of people.
But it's not a rock concert, so if you need inspiration, look to Bayard Rustin and his March on Washington.
They gave the world "I have a dream" without Fleetwood Mac.
Is Fleetwood Mac still a thing? We need a big draw.
I'll see your Julian Bond and raise you Lady Gaga.
What's a Lady Gaga? New artist, big gay following.
If she performs, there will be a big crowd.
No.
No music acts, okay? - Fine.
- [Pen clatters.]
- Then you may as well cancel it.
- Dude, come on.
Hey, this is what it feels like to do something new, okay? It's lonely, and it's tough.
And nobody believes in you until after you've succeeded.
You need to learn that.
I'm going back on the road again tomorrow because old queens go to gay fundraisers all summer long.
So, you get your generation, and I will get mine.
And we leapfrog these supposed LGBT leaders before they miss this moment.
Never quote me on this, but losing Prop 8 could be the best thing that ever happened if we pull this off.
Can you do a speaking tour now? What do you mean? You're not getting any younger.
[Knife clacks.]
You may be all cute and flexible and everything, but I was a twink once, too, you know, kind of the fiercest that the Castro ever saw.
And I led more marches and screwed more men than you will ever lead or screw in your life.
And, yes, my hair might be gray and my face might be worn, but I have more energy in this ravaged body than any of you have in your skinny little limbs combined, and that includes you lesbians.
So, you want to out-march me, you want to out-bitch me, come on.
Who's first? Look.
Clear moments of opportunity like this are rare, okay? Twice I've seen them ripped away by an assassin's bullet and by a plague.
We cannot let this opportunity slip away, too, not again.
- Roma, can you give me a hand? - Yeah, sure.
[Grunting.]
So oh as the President of the Board of Supervisors, I'm gonna need you to make a statement in favor of citywide healthcare.
Oh, come on, Roma.
This is family time.
Now, come on.
Keep moving.
This is heavy.
- You got your end? - Yeah.
We don't have to do it all at once.
We can start with poor people.
Oh, because everybody loves poor people.
We don't even have the union's support on this.
I'll talk to the unions.
Will you make a statement? Fine.
Good luck with the unions.
Give me that.
[Siren wailing, horns honking.]
[Man coughing.]
Get your stuff.
How else are we gonna get on out of here? [Indistinct conversations.]
Welcome to the City of Refuge.
Welcome home.
Holt: Thousands are expected to take part this morning in a march for gay and lesbian rights.
Man: Today they plan to march through the streets of Washington, ending up here at the Capitol, where they are going to demand quicker action from the President.
Cleve: 15 minutes.
15 minutes until the greatest humiliation of my life.
Gilbert: Oh, breathe, girl.
They're coming.
They're coming.
They're just all on gay time.
[Horns honking.]
[Indistinct conversations.]
Shut up and open your banner.
Come on.
Can I get some hands over here? Let's just get it out into the street.
Come on.
Hurry up! - Okay, okay.
- Let's get it out in the street.
Okay, let's spread it out.
[People cheering.]
You ready? Let's march! Holt: Nearly nine months into his term, President Barack Obama today was a target of a huge demonstration in Washington.
Crowd: Equality! Man: When do we want it? Crowd: Now! What do we want? Equality! Man: The President, citing all that he faces now, appealing for more time to deliver on the promises he made.
But today, marchers weren't accepting any excuses.
Homophobia is like racism in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity, and their personhood.
They say that this country is equal, but it is not equal if it's sometimes.
Obama, are you listening?! [Cheers and applause.]
We have existed in every time and culture and land, and we are here today to say we are equal.
We are equal in our ability to form and sustain loving relationships equal in our ability to parent, foster-parent, and adopt [Crowd shouts in agreement.]
equal in our ability to defend our country.
And we are most certainly equal in the eyes of God! And soon, we will be equal under the laws of this land because a free and equal people do not tolerate the prioritization of their rights.
They do not accept compromise.
They do not accept delays.
No more compromise.
No more delays.
We are equal! We are equal! We are equal! [Cheers and applause.]
[Door opens.]
- Hi.
- Chad: Hi.
- Ted Olson.
Sit.
Sit.
- Yes.
How can I help you? [Chuckles.]
I heard a rumor Oh, hearsay won't get you far here.
[Laughs.]
It was at a brunch in Beverly Hills.
I met a woman who knew you and suggested that well, given your history with working with conservative administrations that we may be surprised to hear where you stand on the issue of marriage equality.
You know how wives gossip at those brunches in Beverly Hills.
Well, wives aren't really a considerable part of my world.
[Laughs.]
Sir, a few LGBT leaders are calling for federal equality.
In the face of defeat.
Bold.
Well I've already been asked to join a potential case involving Proposition 8 on the traditional-marriage side.
But if you want to know my own core beliefs, not rumors there is nothing more traditional or conservative than marriage.
And I can't get my head around why we would deny that to anyone.
The question is can you make a legal argument? Because that's the only way to win at the Supreme Court.
And conservative or not, I'm about the most experienced lawyer there is at that court.
And let's not kid ourselves.
You're here because you know the Supreme Court is the only path you have left to put an end to Prop 8 for a generation.
Cleve: You can't wage a war from Palm Springs.
So, for the second time in my life, I packed up the few things I owned and moved back, back to San Francisco.
[Cellphone dings.]
Oh, get in line, honey.
I did have an apartment lined up, but somewhere between Palm Springs and here, the landlord raised the rent through the roof.
Well, welcome to the tech revolution.
You know, there has been more support for federal action since the march, but the people I need are here, so it's back to couch-surfing and looking for a job.
You know, the more things change Yeah.
Or go backwards.
Our coalition is fighting with the unions now over healthcare.
It's ugh.
Well, I still know some of the union folks from the old campaign days.
I plan on offering them the privilege of employing me.
I'm sure I could strong-arm them into having dinner here, if that was helpful.
What? Thought I'd lost all the boys I loved in this city.
Oh, no, no.
Only the good die young.
[Door opens.]
Annie: Look! Do it for grandma, Justice.
Cleve: [Chuckles.]
Isn't she cute? Look! [Laughs.]
You're doing it! - You can walk! - Aah! [Chuckling.]
Oh! It took two years to adopt Max, about four to finalize the adoption with Roxy.
You know, we have a unique understanding for what it means to want to build families and have roadblocks put up at every turn of the way.
While other families are struggling to raise their kids because they can't afford to keep them healthy.
We have the power to change that.
Man: With this kind of coverage means less income for S.
F.
General.
We lose those jobs, those families get hurt.
Where do you take your kids when they get sick? To the E.
R.
at General? - No, of course not.
- No, of course not.
San Francisco General will adapt and maybe get stronger.
[Mid-tempo jazz music playing.]
[Sighs.]
I just don't think we can endorse it.
Even the term "universal healthcare" it's divisive.
Can I take your plate? You know, I've spent my whole life fighting for safe homes, a safe home for women in the first building owned and operated solely by women and then for the gay men when the plague hit and they were abandoned by their families.
So, why not forget what they've called it in the past and call it what it is a home, a medical home, for every single San Franciscan? Every single San Franciscan.
- A medical home.
- Mm-hmm.
And when we win, it will have been the gays working with the union boys that made it possible for the straights to raise healthy kids here.
One struggle, one fight, right, Cleve? One struggle, one fight.
[Cellphone dings.]
Man: I'll drink to that.
[Sighs.]
Your baby face hides your political pedigree.
What do you want exactly? I'm sure you didn't invite me here just to feed me eggs and compliments.
Well, what if we bypass Congress? What if we take Prop 8 to the United States Supreme Court? [Indistinct conversations.]
I'm sorry.
Who do you think you are to take on such a case? As you know, the name of the game of the Supreme Court is five votes.
I assume you think you can get Justice Kennedy.
But what if you're wrong? If the Supreme Court upholds Proposition 8, if they declare their brand of bigotry as constitutional, your naiveté could set us back decades.
I want a civil-rights act that insists the Constitution applies to all people in all matters.
And that juice you keep sipping on, that's actually mine, so I'm gonna leave you with the bill.
- Oh.
I-I'm sorry.
- I-I appreciate your candor.
But before you go, there's someone I want you to meet.
And you might get a kick out of it.
[Telephone rings.]
Cleve: You're kidding me.
Chad: Give it a chance.
Hi.
Ted Olson.
I know who you are.
The thing is, Cleve, I don't think this is about winning 5-4, and it isn't just about winning marriage.
This is about winning every single one of those nine justices that we can.
This is about equal protection and due process.
A Constitution that includes gay people.
Won't this destroy your reputation in your all-boys clubs in D.
C.
? We're not as different as you'd like to believe.
[Scoffs.]
I've been in the eye of the storm, and like you, I believe in something, I do it.
I would not be just some hired gun.
You know who David Boies is.
Of course.
He's the lawyer he beat in Bush v.
Gore, the case that gave us George W.
Bush.
- And thank you for that.
- You're quite welcome.
Ted asked David to argue the case with him.
- [Chuckles.]
- David agreed.
That would be a dream team red and blue going beyond the political divide.
And so I I just drop my legislative strategy, my civil-rights act? That could take decades.
We likely wouldn't live to see it signed.
And I believe the Constitution already says you have every right that every other citizen has.
Everyone will be against this.
I mean [Chuckles.]
they'll they'll say it's too soon, it's not our turn.
Most Americans are against it.
One bad decision by any judge on our way up to the Supreme Court it could be catastrophic.
It's It's insane.
It's radical.
Yeah.
It's radical.
Chad, if you'd read our plan, you know there's an agreed-upon, 25-year, incremental strategy for marriage equality.
But your plan it was made before Prop 8 passed.
It was made before the uprising that followed.
The the world has changed.
With the tsunami of money coming at us from Maggie Gallagher and the Mormons, we should be strengthening our defenses, not incite them more.
We're not trying to leapfrog anybody with this case.
But I would ask that you recognize the energy behind this moment and, with us, help get our truth out.
Lawyer: Those are all of the cases we've lost at the hands of Ted Olson.
He's our enemy, not our leader.
If you move ahead with this, we will release this file to the media.
[Exhales sharply.]
Then, uh then then you should do it.
Someone who's represented all of these conservative cases that would move public opinion in places we we never even thought possible.
Mr.
Griffin, you've been warned.
[Door opens.]
[Door closes.]
That was, uh, almost the entire gay-rights and civil-rights leadership of this country.
So, it's your turn to find support for us now 'cause we're gonna need it.
Roma, I need you to make a statement in favor of our marriage case.
Marriage was constructed to subjugate women.
I know.
I said the same thing in the '70s when the gay-lib kids took over that wedding-cake shop in New York.
But you remember Ken.
Of course.
He got put out on the street when he lost Richard because they weren't married, right? I mean, how many more did we lose because we didn't have the protections of marriage? Or insurance or visitation? Now, that has been such an issue.
Where's your new apartment? Cheers.
- In the Castro.
- Is it expensive? It's small, but I should be able to pay the rent if I can make this union job permanent.
But listen I have a speech on Saturday, and I will talk about your medical home if you give me a marriage quote.
You're barking up the wrong tree.
I'd get us all equal by getting rid of marriage for everyone.
I've got good news.
What's that, hon? - I'm pregnant.
- What? Oh, my God! Congratulations.
- Thank you.
- This is all mine now.
- [Chuckles.]
- [Laughing.]
And And we've decided to get married - Mm-hmm.
- and to have a wedding.
- Really? - Annie: Mm-hmm.
I mean, why not save the money for a college fund? Jandro and I have been together for years.
I'm sick of calling him my baby daddy.
If I could call him my husband, I wouldn't have to explain everything every time.
- Mm.
- Words have meaning, Roma.
I never called you "Mom," so we always had to explain everything.
But now you're "Grandma," and everyone gets it.
The word "married" might mean something, too, more than it used to.
Words have meaning, Roma.
Cheers.
Congratulations.
[Siren wailing, horn honks.]
Woman: We got to get back, all right? Hit it right there in the middle.
[Car alarm blaring.]
Hey! Run! Run! Run! Come on! Hey! Ugh! [Grunting.]
Come on! Run! So, we've got the unions behind us now.
Come on.
The mayor can get the votes we need.
I just need you to bring him down to the women's building.
Roma, it's Annie's wedding day.
I mean, girl, give it a rest.
Annie: He resonates love as he models confidence, balance, integrity.
I picked him because I knew that, no matter what, he'd be a great father.
Annie faces the world with passion and straightforwardness, with our family and our community You got two options jail or church.
You come back to us, you come back to help us.
We ain't got nothing to give, all right? Well, at least you know that.
Woman wants to know her ministry.
What she got to know first is her wilderness.
You know what? Jesus didn't have nothing, either, and he still fed all of those people with just two little fish, right? Mm.
[Chuckles.]
That's it.
We could feed people.
I mean, we know the ones who are hungry.
Well, none of us up in here are Jesus.
You don't trust us with your food? We might have to shut down the meal program for a while.
Wait a minute.
Wait.
Why you in here handing out hope if you ain't got any? You're selling disappointment, and we full up on that.
You know what? You get the hell out of here.
Get out! The Lord says, by testing, you can discern the will of God.
I need to know if this church is true, if there is a God for people like us.
Want to know what I said to myself when I first saw you? I said, "That's my test.
" Good news.
At our church, God gives us 100 new tests every day.
Woman: I'm a diabetic, sir.
I also need pills for depression.
And I couldn't get help anywhere.
But I knew, in your city, if you got HIV, you'd get help.
It's not like you went out and you got it on purpose.
But if I didn't have a clean needle or a condom, that's okay.
And now I got both.
I got HIV, but I also got help so I can finally get better.
[Knock on door.]
Victor, the mayor has agreed to sign the healthcare ordinance.
She died.
- She's gone.
- What? Yeah.
Hey, guys, go upstairs.
What? I'm I'm so sorry, Victor.
I No, no, no, no.
You just you you don't get it, what it is to have a real family, okay? How could you, people like you, huh? Just do me favor.
Just get out of here.
Just just look, just leave us alone.
Just leave leave us alone, please.
Thank you.
Man: In the Supreme Court case that decided the 2000 presidential election, Ted Olson represented George W.
Bush, and David Boies represented Al Gore.
Today the two attorneys join forces to challenge Proposition 8, the California ballot measure that bans same-sex marriages.
So, Olson and Boies taking it to federal court.
Chad: Ted Olson and David Boies are representing Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo and Kris Perry and Sandy Stier.
It does not undermine marriage to extend it to these loving couples.
It affirms marriage.
[Cheers and applause.]
Ted, why do this? Do you have a friend or a family member who's gay? We all do.
These are our neighbors, our co-workers, our teachers, our friends, our families.
And whatever discrimination the state of California now does permit, I can assure you the United States Constitution does not.
Okay.
Now we just can't lose.
[Cheers and applause.]
We turn to San Francisco and the opening day of a trial in the first-ever federal case challenging laws against gay marriage.
Man: Over the next several weeks, the testimony coming from this court might sound like policy and politics, but to many young people out there, this trial will sound more like this "You are not alone.
" Cleve: No federal case starts at the U.
S.
Supreme Court.
First you must survive a district court in your own backyard, with the whole country watching And most importantly, let it be heard that your love is valued.
Marriage is the only institution we have that's about bringing together the two great halves of humanity, male and female, so that children can know and be known by and love and be loved by their own mother and father.
and against an opposition who fought to make sure the world couldn't hear our case.
They've spent millions of dollars in misleading ads in order to pass Prop 8, and now in a court of law they fought to ban cameras.
Don't we deserve to know just exactly what it is that they're trying to hide? When I first met Sandy, I thought she might be the sparkliest person I ever met.
And over time, our friendship grew deeper and deeper.
And after a few years, I thought, "I might be falling in love with her.
" Olson: Sandy, why do you want to be married? Sandy: I want this for us.
And I want our children and our children's children to feel like they can love who they love and be treated fairly.
Can you tell this court your feelings for Jeffrey? I found someone I know I can dedicate the rest of my life to.
And when you find someone that's not only your best friend, but your best advocate and supporter in life, it's a natural next step to want to be married to that person.
The word "marriage" has meaning.
Jeffrey: It symbolizes maybe the most important decision you make as an adult.
Paul: I love Jeff more than I love myself.
And to be excluded in that way is so incredible harmful.
I can't speak as an expert.
I can speak as a human being who's lived it.
Very well.
Cross-examine.
We have no questions, Your Honor.
Okay.
Then we will resume tomorrow.
How can they build a case if they don't challenge us? They hired a first-rate lawyer.
He's got something up his sleeve.
[Indistinct conversations.]
[Sniffles.]
[Voice breaking.]
I'm a woman always have been.
They still put me in that man's cell in jail.
Thought I was gonna die in there.
When Paul came and told me my old partner had died of AIDS, I thought to myself, "This is how I'm gonna die.
" So, I said to myself, if I could survive jail, I was gonna find the salvation that he couldn't.
Where you gonna sleep tonight? Unh.
I don't know.
You don't know? This is not a place for handouts.
It's for you to start helping you.
Why can't they just stay here? We don't have enough beds for them.
There's more hands being held out than hands paying tithes.
We can barely afford this.
What about help from the city? We tried that.
City Hall's got no interest in us here.
- Good to be here.
- Reporter: Mr.
Mayor, I understand you've got universal healthcare in San Francisco.
Tell us about it.
Yes.
Only city in the United States of America that's doing universal healthcare where people are able to get a medical home and a medical card, public, private choice.
We think it's a model program for the rest of the country.
[Knock on door.]
Hey.
Hey.
You do realize we won, right? [Chuckles.]
What's wrong, Roma? This is just how I am when I win.
You should have seen me when we beat Prop 6.
Diane will be back from the Ivory Coast tomorrow.
I'll be fine.
Cleve: So, this is what winning looks like.
Maybe we're here for something bigger than ourselves.
Maybe we were put here to fight.
Cleve: For weeks, dozens of witnesses told the stories of our lives, our families, and our struggle under oath.
Do you know that a majority of courts, as well as a majority of Americans, have ruled there is no right to same-sex marriage? But when their turn came, they called only two witnesses and only one expert on marriage.
It's not that they didn't want expert witnesses of their own here.
They had half a dozen lined up, but almost all of them backed out after their sworn depositions.
You see, it's easy to make statements to the press.
But when you have to defend those opinions under oath, their arguments fell apart.
And all they have left is one expert.
Mr.
Blankenhorn, what is the primary purpose of marriage? Well, the anthropologist Strauss once described marriage as a social institution with a biological foundation.
We reproduce sexually.
Cleve: Oh, Maggie made it.
And there is only one institution that brings together all these dimensions, and that would be the institution of marriage because we know how important this is for the children.
Your Honor, no further questions.
Thank you.
Mr.
Blankenhorn, have any of the scholars you've relied on said that permitting same-sex marriage will cause a reduction in heterosexual marriage? That is a "Yes," "No," or "I don't know.
" I believe that some of the scholars that I have cited have asserted that permitting same-sex marriage would contribute to the de-institutionalization of marriage.
One of the manifestations of that would be to lower the marriage rate among heterosexuals.
But I do not have sure knowledge that, in the form of the words that you're asking me to use, that they would have made the assertion that permitting same-sex marriage would definitely, directly lower the marriage rate among, uh, heterosexual couples.
[Spectators murmuring.]
If I were to interpret that as an "I don't know" [Laughter.]
Your Honor, I can restate it for you.
The the record is is clear.
I've felt this way before.
It's just, I always thought I wasn't cut out for winning, so I kept fighting.
Well, you've earned a break.
That's about all I've earned.
I helped build this city.
I can't afford to live in it if I retire.
Well, I'm not leaving.
My family's here.
What? What do you expect me to say? Well, I-I don't know, but maybe not, "See you later, Roma.
" - But, no, technically - Well, I Technically, I am a renter, so go.
- Oh - Go stay with your family.
- You'd really leave? - I don't know, but I'm I'm kind of waking up here and going, like, "What?" - if any of this is actually mine.
- Roma, what is this? And I I hate that I'm asking that, but I am.
Mom, she's not going anywhere.
She's in love with my kids now.
I can't afford to live here, Annie.
You bought a four-story building when you were a kid.
You have never freaked out about money your entire life.
Give me a break.
What is it? You don't love me anymore? - Roma? - Oh, God.
I get it.
What? What what what do you get? I think you need to propose to her, Mom.
You might not buy it 'cause neither did I but it's not just a word.
And I know better than you two on this one.
You got to propose, Mom.
It would be the politically correct thing to do.
Who knows if the if the courts would even let us.
Yeah.
Right.
Okay.
Yeah.
Okay.
I'm not wearing white.
Blankenhorn: There are eminent scholars that have argued Boies: Sir, on page 300, you said you're basing your analysis Oh, oh, this I see.
This this is the the "got you" moment, right? Because I said the word "transmitter" at your deposition.
Let me have a look at your own words.
"I assure you these are not my own conclusions.
I am a transmitter of these eminent scholars.
" Mr.
Blankenhorn, do you believe that permitting gay and lesbian couples to marry would improve the well-being of those gays and lesbians and the children they're raising? And I'm asking for your conclusions, not other scholars'.
I believe that adopting same-sex marriage would improve the well-being of gay and lesbian households and their children, yes.
Thank you.
And in 2007, you wrote a book, and in your book, you wrote, "I believe that today the principle of equal human dignity must apply to gay and lesbian persons.
" And then you say, "We would be more American " emphasize "more.
" "We would be more American on the day we permitted same-sex marriage than we were on the day before.
" And you wrote those words three years ago.
I wrote those words.
And you believe them now, today? That's correct.
Thank you.
Your Honor, Mr.
Blankenhorn's testimony was utterly unnecessary.
Every state and society for the millennia has attempted to channel naturally procreative sexual conduct Walker: Let's just say that I agree the state's interest is procreative.
How does permitting same-sex marriage adversely affect that? My answer is [Sighs.]
I don't know.
I don't know.
[Breathes deeply.]
Ken: You know what? On second thought, type "Ken Jones heard that you were commissioner, so he came down here to see if they really gave your spicy ass such a respectable position.
" Cecilia: What? Oh, my God! Ken! - Oh, my God! Ken! - Yeah.
Your spicy ass.
- Oh, God! - [Both laugh.]
Aah! Oh, my Look at you, Commissioner Chung.
[Exhales sharply.]
I need your help.
You It's about damn time you finally realized that.
- Come here.
Come here.
- Oh, my God.
[Laughs.]
Olson: I think the people's eyes are being opened.
People are becoming more understanding and tolerant.
The polls tell us that.
But that does not justify a judge to say, "I really need the polls to be a few points higher before I break down this discrimination.
" And I submit, at the end of the day, "I don't know," with all due respect to Mr.
Cooper, does not cut it.
It does not cut it.
When you are taking away the constitutional right to privacy, liberty, association, and sexual intimacy from a large group of individuals, that is not acceptable under our Constitution.
And Mr.
Blankenhorn is absolutely right the day that we end that, we will be more American.
Cleve: It took months for the judge's decision to come in, but when it did, each side was given the news one hour before the public in case anything needed to be done to prevent riots.
[Door opens.]
[People murmuring.]
Chad we won.
We won big.
Olson: The judge gave us the Constitution.
- [Laughs.]
- No, no, no, don't kiss me.
Please.
You're not my type.
[Cheers and applause.]
Reporter: Supporters of same-sex marriage cheered today's decision declaring that Proposition 8 to ban gay marriage is unconstitutional.
Wolfson: This case will certainly be appealed.
Meanwhile, it's important that the rest of us who believe in fairness make the same case for the freedom to marry in the court of public opinion that the lawyers made in the court of law.
Well, I think it will be up to the Supreme Court, and I do not think they have five votes for it.
Chad: If we can win at the Supreme Court now, we could have marriage in all 50 states.
But the justices don't live in a bubble.
If we don't show them we've won the hearts and minds of everyone Republicans, Democrats, North, and South then we could lose the entire nation.
These numbers will demonstrate the thousands of meals that we've served and the beds that we've provided at the City of Refuge Church.
But we're running out of money, and that puts our people back on the streets.
Now, before you say anything, I know that this is not up to city requirements.
It's just, you know, there's been so much bad done in the name of "God.
" I can assure you this is not that God.
And I'd hate to have to share how you forced a black, HIV-positive, trans-inclusive church to close because you didn't have a few more numbers.
Okay, I hear you.
I hear you, both of you.
Well, you seem very calm for someone who just got strong-armed.
Can I tell you something? Diane and I engaged.
- What? - I know.
Can you believe it? - Congratulations.
- Oh, no, no, no.
It's a political thing.
And please don't tell anyone.
We're don't want to make a big deal out of it.
So, do us right, and we'll keep your dirty little secret, hmm? Reporter: Passed by Congress Cleve: In the year we waited for our case to make it to the Supreme Court, on the other side of the country, a second case started making its way, too, a case challenging DOMA itself, the Defense of Marriage Act.
Reporter: It's being challenged by 83-year-old Edie Windsor of New York.
When her spouse, Thea Spyer, died and left her the estate, she got a tax bill for $363,000.
If the federal government had recognized the marriage, it would have been zero.
The Windsor case challenging DOMA is that a threat to your case? Windsor isn't suing a state.
She's suing the federal government.
That includes President Obama.
Windsor must have bigger balls than all of us if she's suing the President.
Obama could have ignored your case.
He can't ignore hers.
I mean, isn't the question now, will he defend DOMA? If we can get the first African-American president to come out and support marriage equality Cleve: Chad had been an aide in the White House.
He returned as part of a coalition, alongside all of those who had been against our case, because if you could get the President, you move the numbers.
You move the numbers, you might convince the Supreme Court.
Hi.
Did you write the President, too? I did.
We did.
We asked him, uh, to help it make it so that kids of, you know, two moms or two dads that one day that their parents can get married, too.
Why can't they get married now? You know, that's a very smart question.
That's exactly what I want to ask him.
People are being denied a right that this court has said 14 times is fundamental.
Is it your position that, in 1848, the framers of the 14th Amendment contemplated same-sex couples? That very same argument was made in Loving vs.
Virginia with regard to people of different races - having the right to marry.
- [Cellphone vibrating.]
Ginsburg: Okay.
So, let's say that DOMA is constitutional.
Is there any argument that Prop 8 isn't? I can't accept that, but the government may have something in its head about DOMA that makes this a different case from, say, Robbie's Defense of Marriage Act case.
No one has ever articulated a legitimate reason why only gay married couples should be taxed on the assets they accumulate together.
Are are we only looking at this estate-tax issue of yours? Everyone agrees.
The IRS says same-sex married couples would receive the same benefits, - except that DOMA prevents that.
- [Cellphone dings.]
So, if I marry my cat, the government should give me tax credits? It's based on conduct, not status.
No.
I'm not touching my cat.
I'm just married to it.
[Laughter.]
[Sighs.]
If you make this just about a tax bill, your argument is so narrow, that even if you win, most states are still gonna be able to ban gay marriage.
With all due respect, you're shooting for the cheap seats.
DOMA is far from narrow.
It involves more than 1,100 federal rights and duties, from Social Security to healthcare to taxes.
You're arguing for marriage in all 50 states.
It's so broad.
Your arguments are so broad, we could end up with nothing.
My client is Edie.
She lost the love of her life, and that injury was met with an unjust tax bill.
When the country meets her, they'll want even more for her and the rest of us like her.
This is about Edie for me.
Did you get the President? We have one Republican senator.
- [Sighs.]
- And Clinton and Biden are in, but it's an election year.
It's a bigger risk for the President.
You boys might find my approach narrow, but my case puts us in a position to demand the President take a side, and I can assure you I won't let him off the hook just because this is an election year.
[Cellphone vibrating.]
Oh.
Hi, Roma.
Hi, sis.
What's wrong? Listen, I don't want you to feel bad about saying no.
It's a lot, and it might be really short notice based on the courts, um Oh, God.
What did you do? No, no, no.
No, no.
The Supreme Court.
Uh, Diane and I [voice breaking.]
are getting married.
Um I mean, depending on what the courts say.
[Sighs.]
Right.
Right.
Well, I'd like to come.
Don't you still believe in Heaven and Purgatory and all that? I mean, how would you reconcile that? You're my sister.
I put that away.
Listen, if you win this, I-I'd like to be there.
Okay.
Thank you.
Bye.
[Exhales sharply.]
What's wrong? Now I'm afraid we might lose.
[Chuckles, sniffles.]
Aww.
Thank you.
Woman: Those in favor of providing funding for the City of Refuge Church, raise your hand.
Cleve: The decades of struggle for our lives, our families, a God, a home now it was for all of the "us-es" out there, one struggle, one fight.
With what you got for us today, we'll build a stronger church.
I'll give you all I got.
Amen.
[Chuckles.]
Come here.
And now it's done, you still call every day There truly is a God for us.
- [Engine starts.]
- I never have an answer - I never seem to be there for you - [Car door closes.]
[Car alarms blaring.]
President Obama: Over the course of several years, as I talked to friends and family, when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed, monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, at a certain point, I've just concluded that, um, for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that, uh, I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.
Reporter: The President said Williams: The court has taken on two cases here from opposite ends of the country, and their rulings will stand as the law of the land.
- [Cheers and applause.]
- Man: Both of them come here as public support for same-sex marriage is growing a different political climate than just four years ago, when Prop 8 became law.
Hi.
My name is Ken.
I'm from Bobbie's church.
I-I'm sorry.
You're her Okay, first off, don't call him a her, all right? Matter of fact, you show that disrespect in front of his mama, I'll show you how a man gets down in this family.
You listen.
Bobbie was a she when she walked this earth, and she'll be a she when she's laid to rest.
And we'll defend her to the grave for that right.
Let's go.
Your Honor, we are saying that the state's interest in what we have framed as responsible procreation - is vital.
- But suppose the state said the focus of marriage should be procreation.
Are we not giving marriage licenses to couples where both the man and woman are over 55? I can assure you there are not a lot of children coming out of those marriages.
[Laughter.]
Scalia: When did it become unconstitutional to exclude homosexual couples from marriage? 1791? When? When did it become unconstitutional to prohibit interracial marriage? Don't give me a question to my question.
The case before you is whether or not the state of California can take a clear class of individuals based upon their distinguishing characteristics and remove from them their right to privacy, liberty, association, spirituality, and identity that marriage gives them.
Well, that's really [Sighs.]
That's quite a broad argument, particularly in this case, Mr.
Olson, don't you think? Quite broad.
Ken: When I'm there in the City of Refuge Church it's like my heart and soul found one home.
This family is in mourning Ken: and filled with a lot of fear.
They would trust you.
And I believe if we work together, we can help them through these challenges.
Clement: With respect, Justice Kennedy, that's not right.
No state loses any benefits by recognizing same-sex marriage.
Ginsburg: They're not a question of additional benefits.
I mean, they touch every aspect of life.
You're saying, "No, there are two kinds of marriages the full marriage and then a sort of skim-milk marriage.
" - [Chuckles.]
- [Laughter.]
Scalia: But if we do this for New Yorkers, don't we have to do it for every state - because of equal protection? - No.
These broader questions, they would be a different case, more similar to the Prop 8 case.
But no one in either case has identified any legitimate difference between gay married couples and straight married couples that can possibly explain this sweeping, undifferentiated, and categorical discrimination.
And I would respectfully contend that this is because there is none.
Rather, as the title of the statute makes clear, the Defense of Marriage Act was enacted to defend against gay people, a discriminatory purpose rooted in moral disapproval.
84 senators 84 based their vote on moral disapproval of gay people? What is true, Your Honor, is that times can blind and that, back in 1996, people did not have the understanding they have today.
So, there's been this sea change between now and 1996? I think, with respect to the understanding of gay people and their relationships, yes, there has been a sea change, Your Honor.
Yes.
[Charles Bradley's "Let Love Stand A Chance" plays.]
Woman: Bobbie Jean Baker served God and community well and faithfully and was a pioneer in this inclusive movement.
[Congregants shout.]
Whereas Minister Bobbie Jean Baker lived in such a manner to touch each and every one of us with her example of love and acceptance.
All: Amen! - Love a chance - We love you, Bobbie Jean.
- I been thinking about you so long - You will be missed.
[Congregants shout.]
But time just slip away Man: There is no gay in a real black man.
No real black man is a homosexual.
[Chuckles, sniffles.]
We are so, so good at funerals, kid.
[Laughs.]
But marriage, huh? Marriage is a ministry, too.
I'm going to Washington when a decision comes.
I want you with us.
Let's be clear.
They're arguing that every state must allow same-sex marriage, even though some believe it is harmful.
And there's no scientific answer yet to that question.
There is substance to the point that sociological information is new.
We have five years of information on gay marriage to weigh against 2,000 years of history.
But there's an immediate legal injury here at least, what could be considered a legal injury and that's the voice of these children.
Briggs: You normal people who have the children, who take the burden of having children and raising children, do you want a sexually disoriented person teaching your child? There are no human rights to corrupt our children.
We're concerned about how it's going to affect children and our children's children.
Kennedy: There are some 40,000 children in California that live with same-sex parents.
And they want their parents to have full recognition and full status.
The voice of these children is important in this case, too, don't you think? Your Honor this democratic debate, which is roiling across this country, it is a political question, not legal.
And we would submit to you that that question is properly answered by the people themselves, Your Honor.
Man: It was Justice Anthony Kennedy who said, "You're asking us to go into uncharted waters.
" He said, "I wonder if the Supreme Court should have - even taken this case now " - Will you listen, please? My entire life, I have heard arguments that we somehow harm children, and today I heard a Supreme Court justice flip that argument on its head.
The rest is noise.
It doesn't matter the outcome.
We've already won because you dared to stand up and fight.
Stephanopoulos: Good morning, America, and, this morning, history at the Supreme Court.
The justices will make their landmark rulings on same-sex marriage and gay rights.
Thousands already outside waiting for the decisions.
[Cheers and applause.]
Woman: Thank you.
[Cheers and applause intensify.]
Many times in the history of our country, the question of my inalienable rights has been brought before this court.
No matter the outcome We made it.
we will not surrender.
[Sighs.]
We will come back again and again and again Get out of here.
You got a case to win.
- [Cheers and applause.]
- Mm.
- until we - Go on.
Go on.
[Cheering.]
My ancestors stood in this same spot, and I can hear their voices.
I can feel their blood cry up from the ground, and they sang a song.
Ain't gonna let nobody turn me 'round Turn me 'round Turn me 'round After the California Supreme Court held that limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples violated the California Constitution, state voters passed a ballot initiative known as Proposition 8.
Same-sex couples who wish to marry filed suit in federal court challenging Proposition 8 Turn me 'round, Turn me 'round Ain't gonna let nobody turn me 'round Ken: You've missed so much, Michael.
You missed music the joy.
You missed the love.
[Exhales sharply.]
Remember what I once told you, that the ones who make a big show of it are the ones in trouble? Boy, was I wrong.
It's the ones who stood up, they were the strongest the best of us.
I need you to do me one favor.
If you see an old queen up there by the name of Richard who likes to roller-skate tell him I miss him, too.
Woman: We have some breaking news out of the Supreme Court.
Stephanopoulos: We do have the breaking news right now from the Supreme Court, last day of the session.
They have handed down the decision on the Defense of Marriage Act.
I want to go right to ABC's Terry Moran at the court.
Terry? All right, George, colleagues inside have told us that that Defense of Marriage Act has been ruled unconstitutional.
[Cheers and applause.]
Stephanopoulos: We do now have the decision on Proposition 8? The original ruling, which struck down Prop 8, will stand, and that will mean that gay couples in California will be able to marry.
- [Cheers and applause.]
- Yes! Yeah! Yeah! [Cheers and applause.]
I got to go! I got to go! - Is there a victory rally? - How should I know?! I got to buy a damn dress! Yes! Man: A victory for Edie Windsor of New York.
We won everything we asked and hoped for.
Woman: Now we will be married, and we will be equal to every other family in California.
So, today is a good day.
It's the day I finally get to look [voice breaking.]
at the man that I love and finally say, "Will you please marry me?" Man: Bless me Bless me Oh, Lord, bless me indeed Enlarge my territory Oh, God Bless me indeed - Oh, happy day - Oh, happy day - Roma! - You have the keys, right? - Oh, happy day - Oh, happy day - When Jesus washed - When Jesus washed - When He washed - Oh, when He washed - When Jesus washed - When Jesus washed - He washed my sins away - No other human ties are more tender and no other vows more important than the ones you are about to pledge today.
All the rallies, all the marches every single moment was not only for the equality, but was for the moment to be able to say, "I do.
" In accordance with the laws of the state of California and the powers that are vested in me, it gives me great honor to pronounce you spouses for life.
[Cheers and applause.]
- He washed my sins away - He washed my sins away - Ohhhh, happy, happy, happy day - Oh, happy day - Oh, happy day-y-y-y - Yeah, yeah, yeah [Cheers and applause continue.]
Officiant: "I, Roma Guy " Roma: I, Roma Guy " take you, Diane Jones " take you, Diane Jones " for my lawful wife " for my lawful wife " to have and to hold from this day forward " - Wait.
Hey.
- They could drop dead - if they wait any longer, Annie! - [Laughter.]
Annie: I have something I need to say.
I just [Sighs.]
I have wasted so much time being ashamed and hiding who we really are.
But you have been the ones who have shown me what loves looks like and how powerful it is.
And it's because of your example that I am able to give and receive the love that I can.
So, thank you for sharing this with us.
Thank you for this precious family.
- Oh! - [Cheers and applause.]
Officiant: Not yet.
Not yet.
- Oh! Okay.
Not yet.
- [Laughter.]
- Not yet.
Not yet.
- All right.
- And now - [Laughs.]
Roma and Diane, I pronounce you spouses for life! [Cheers and applause.]
Whoo! Oh, hey! Thank you.
Thank you.
[Laughs.]
[Cheers and applause.]
Your fighter's heart finally feeling something? [Sighs.]
No.
There's too much left to fight for.
[Sighs.]
I do feel a little different.
[Both chuckle.]
I mean, maybe it's my turn to fall in love again.
- Who knows? I mean - Yeah.
stranger things have happened, right? [Sniffles.]
[Both laugh.]
I joined gay liberation when I was 17.
And I never believed that I would be alive to see this decision today.
And the journey, the struggle, it's certainly not over.
But I think we've done a remarkable job of changing the hearts and the minds of the American people.
Man: Honey, come on.
Let's go.
Cleve: So, I would give the credit not only to my own community, but to the rest of the country.
I mean, I've seen people in my own family change.
I've seen people change right across this country.
And it is making us a better country and a better people.
Said, I'd love to change the world [Engine starts.]
Ohhh But I don't know what to do