As local advocacy groups encourage gay men and lesbians in Houston to contact their senators regarding a proposed amendment that would deny marriage rights to same-sex couples, a filmmaker comes to town with her documentary on the subject.

Catherine Gray brings the one-hour documentary she produced and directed, “I Can’t Marry You,” to the Houston GLBT Community Center on Thursday to offer the public a genuine view of couples that would be affected by the amendment.

“I felt like there was no education tool shedding light on this issue,” she said. “This is the first gay documentary showing on national television about gay marriage. There are many being done now that it’s a hot issue, but this is the first to come out.”

The film is narrated by Betty DeGeneres, mother of lesbian comedian Ellen DeGeneres.

Gray will be present at the showing, and copies will be available for purchase.

In advance of the Thursday event, advocacy groups in Houston are gearing up to fight the proposed amendment, to be considered by the U.S. Senate on Monday.

Randall Ellis, executive director the Lesbian & Gay Rights Lobby of Texas, said next week’s vote is a significant and encouraged individuals to contact U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison, both of whom have supported the amendment.

“Getting people involved is something we’re always concerned with, and we’re trying to get more people engaged,” Ellis said. “The scariest thing for me is that folks in Texas think that they can do nothing to change this, but they’re overlooking the fact that this is an election year.”

Could Hutchison be swayed?
Sue Null, the advocacy chair for Parents & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (PFLAG), said she has made calls to both Texas senators, as well as “swing” senators in other states who have not declared their positions. During a call to Hutchison’s office, Null said an aide told her the senator could still change her mind if enough of her constituents were opposed to the amendment.

“He said that the senator obviously doesn’t make up her mind based on calls from one side, but she does pay attention to the wishes of her constituents,” Null said. “It was an allusion that the senator could change her mind, but there were not enough calls for her to consider it.”

Null related a event that occured in 1996, when she and a group of 50 or 60 gay men were returning to Houston from a showing of the AIDS Quilt in Washington, D.C. Phil Gramm, then a U.S. Senator from Texas, was seated in the same section of the plane. Null took advantage of the situation to voice her support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which was being debated in Congress, but no one else seemed to be willing to make the same move.

Ellis said www.saveourconstitution.org, a Web site organized by LGRL of Texas and the Marriage Equality Texas Project, allows individuals to send a quick fax or e-mail to their senators about the issue.

“We’ve certainly had some successes this past year in the court system,” Ellis said, “But the reason our movement is successful because we keep our attacks on all three branches of government.”

He encourages individuals to write or e-mail Governor Rick Perry, state legislators and representatives in the U.S. House, where the amendment legislation would go next if the senate approves it.

The movie that Gray will show on Thursday was begun in 2002, when gay marriage was not considered by most to be even a remote possibility. The documentary has since been aired on several PBS stations around the country.

Ticket prices to the event start at $10 for the showing and a follow-up question and answer session with Gray. Increased ticket prices include meetings with the director at a private cocktail hour, copies of the movie and other merchandise.

Proceeds from the showing will benefit the community center and the LGRL of Texas’ Equality Knocks project, which seeks to inform voters about issues affecting the gay and lesbian community.

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