''The State of Marriage'' is a 2015

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

about the origins of the

marriage equality Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

movement, focusing on the decades of grassroots advocacy by lawyers

Mary Bonauto Mary L. Bonauto (born June 8, 1961) is an American lawyer and civil rights advocate who has worked to eradicate discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and has been referred to by US Representative Barney Frank as "our Thu ...

, Susan Murray, and

Beth Robinson Beth Robinson (born March 6, 1965) is an American lawyer and judge from Vermont. She is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and is the first openly lesbian judge to serve on any Circuit Court ...

and the 1999

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The Court ...

case ''

Baker v. Vermont ''Baker v. Vermont'', 744 A.2d 864 (Vt. 1999), was a lawsuit decided by Vermont Supreme Court on December 20, 1999. It was one of the first judicial affirmations of the right of same-sex couples to treatment equivalent to that afforded differe ...

''. The film had its world premiere at the 2015 Provincetown International Film Festival on 18 June 2015. It is written and directed by

Jeff Kaufman Jeff Kaufman (born July 6, 1955) is an American film producer, director, writer, and illustrator. Kaufman produced, wrote, and directed the documentaries ''Every Act of Life,'' ''The State of Marriage,'' ''Father Joseph,'' ''The Savoy King: Chick ...

, and produced by Kaufman and

Marcia Ross Marcia S. Ross (born July 1955) is an American casting director and documentary producer. Early life and education Marcia Ross was born in Mount Vernon, New York, the daughter of Joan (née Flug) and Richard Ross (1927–2012); her father ...

. Funding for the film's post-production and editing work was partially raised through a successful Indiegogo

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

campaign.

Background

The film depicts the decades-long battle for marriage equality, beginning in Vermont in the 1990s. In 1997, Bonauto, a lawyer at

Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) is a non-profit legal rights organization in the United States. The organization works to end discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status, and gender identity and expression. The organization p ...

(GLAD), joined forces with two local attorneys, Murray and Robinson, to file a lawsuit against the State of Vermont on behalf of three same-sex couples, Stan Baker and Peter Harrigan, Lois Farnham and Holly Puterbaugh, and Nina Beck and Stacy Jolles. The suit, ''Baker v. Vermont'', ignited state- and nationwide controversy, but eventually resulted in a 1999 State Supreme Court victory and the passage of Civil Unions in 2000, which gave gay and lesbian couples the rights of marriage but not the name. Still, the bill was a national first, and paved the way for gay marriage initiatives in other states, as well as the passage of full same-sex marriage rights in Vermont in 2009. Kaufman was a radio host in Vermont during the initial legal battle, and witnessing the events unfold inspired the creation of the documentary. The film was shot in Vermont between July 2013 and February 2014.

Cast

* Jeffrey Amestoy *Stan Baker *Nina Beck *Rev. Craig Bensen *

*Mark Candon *Steve Cable *Sherry Corbin *

Howard Dean Howard Brush Dean III (born November 17, 1948) is an American physician, author, lobbyist, and retired politician who served as the 79th governor of Vermont from 1991 to 2003 and chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from 2005 to 200 ...

*Diane Derby * Ruth Dwyer *John Edwards *Kevin Ellis *Pat Fagan *Lois Farnham *Peter Harrigan *Eve Jacobs-Carnahan *Stacy Jolles *Rep.

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

Bill Lippert William J. Lippert, Jr., commonly known as Bill Lippert, is a legislator and gay rights activist from the U.S. state of Vermont who has served since 1994 in the Vermont House of Representatives as state representative of the Town of Hinesburg. H ...

*Tom Little * Marion Milne *David Moats *Susan Murray *Holly Puterbaugh *

*Marty Rouse *

Peter Shumlin Peter Elliott Shumlin (born March 24, 1956) is an American politician from Vermont. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 81st governor of Vermont from 2011 to 2017. He was first elected to the office in 2010, and was reelected to a ...

Shap Smith Shapleigh "Shap" Smith, Jr. (born December 16, 1965) is an American politician who served as the 92nd Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives. In August 2015 Smith announced his candidacy for the 2016 Democratic nomination for Governor ...

*Ross Sneyd *

Evan Wolfson Evan Wolfson (born February 4, 1957) is an attorney and gay rights advocate. He is the founder of Freedom to Marry, a group favoring same-sex marriage in the United States, serving as president until its 2015 victory and subsequent wind-down. Wo ...

Reception

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' gave ''The State of Marriage'' a favorable review, calling it an "indispensable addition to the filmed history of the marriage equality movement".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:State of Marriage, The 2015 films 2015 documentary films Documentary films about same-sex marriage in the United States 2015 LGBT-related films Documentary films about Vermont LGBT in Vermont 2010s English-language films 2010s American films American LGBT-related documentary films English-language documentary films