greybean.com

I have a few movie trailers for you: Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator is an early favorite for this year’s Xmas movie. The Hunting of the President definitely looks like an interesting documentary that I’m gonna want to see once I get into Bill Clinton’s My Life (which hits stores next Tuesday). And there’s a new trailer for Robert Zemeckis’s The Polar Express which definitely has an interesting look to it. I’m a big fan of the Chris van Allsburg, I just hope the animation doesn’t turn out to be crappy and distracting. Oh, and another candidate for the Xmas movie would seem to be Marc Forster’s Finding Neverland, depending on when it reaches wide release (it’s slated for a limited release on 10/22/2004).

Okay, read this, from reuters.com:

Gay Couples to Sue Over Marriage Law
Thu Jun 17, 2004 02:34 PM ET

BOSTON (Reuters) - Gay couples from several Massachusetts towns and from out-of-state said on Thursday they would sue Massachusetts for enforcing a controversial marriage law they decried as discriminatory.

The statute, enacted in 1913, blocks nonresident couples from marrying in Massachusetts if laws in their home states would make the marriage void. The law was originally designed to curb interracial marriage.

Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, said last month he would enforce the statute to keep Massachusetts from becoming "the Las Vegas of same-sex marriage," drawing an analogy with the gambler’s haven, known for quickie weddings.

In May Massachusetts became the first state in the nation to permit gay weddings.

"Why can I not have the same security and protection afforded to other married couples," said Katy Gossman, an FBI agent from Connecticut who got married in Massachusetts last month.

"I put a lot of things on the line for my country, but I don’t understand why I can’t be treated like everyone else," she told a news conference.

The Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders will file a suit on Friday on behalf of Gossman and seven other out-of-state gay couples saying the statute is invalid and discriminatory. State courts were closed on Thursday for a local holiday.

"We believe that (the law) violated both the liberty and equality provision of the Massachusetts constitution," said Mary Bonauto, a lawyer and civil rights director at the group.

"This was a law that clerks were instructed to ignore for decades, yet the governor pulled it off the shelves just to deny marriage to some gay and lesbian couples," she added.

Romney’s office would not comment on the issue.

On May 17 when gay weddings were legalized, couples from across the country flocked to Massachusetts to get marriage licenses. Romney warned their unions would become void.

Several towns refused to enforce the law and 12 of them, including Somerville, Provincetown, Worcester and Cambridge, will also file a suit on Friday seeking injunctive relief from a state cease and desist order.

Randall Kennedy, a professor at Harvard Law School, said the law was "tragic, tainted and regrettable."