Federal gay marriage challenge has Hollywood style

By Peter Henderson
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The story of two famous U.S. lawyers from opposite ends of the political spectrum banding together to launch a bold and unexpected fight for gay marriage sounds like it could have been written in Hollywood.
In many ways, it is.
A handful of political filmmakers led by a Democratic consultant have crafted a gay rights challenge they hope will reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
The case which has its first hearing in a federal San Francisco court on July 2 could quickly make gay marriage a national right, or, some veteran gay rights advocates fear, cripple the movement.
The team has political experience, winning referenda in California in particular, and has brought together real-world firepower in the form of Ted Olson and David Boies, the lawyers who faced off in the 2000 election vote recount that led to George W. Bush's presidency.
What sets them apart is the willingness to take on a court case that advocates steeped in the cause have avoided.
"Patience is a virtue I've quite frankly never possessed -- if patience is a virtue," said Chad Griffin, 35, who began his career in the political big leagues more than a decade ago as the youngest person to work on a president's West Wing staff.
"History is on our side, law is on our side," added Griffin, who is gay.
Rob Reiner, the "When Harry Met Sally" director and advocate for children's health, and Bruce Cohen, the producer of "Milk," a film about the first openly gay elected politician in California, are two of the six-member board of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, founded for the court challenge.
HIGH STAKES
Despite losses in California courts and at the ballot box, gay rights advocates have made major strides in recent months with marriage and domestic partner rights in a number of states, especially in the Northeast.
President Barack Obama's Justice Department this week argued in a federal case against recognizing same-sex marriage, but Obama on Wednesday extended some federal rights to gay partners of federal workers in what he called a first step to end discrimination against gays and lesbians.
The federal judiciary is widely seen as conservative, and gay rights movement leaders have argued that a gradual approach to change public opinion and win in states would be crucial preparation for a challenge in the Supreme Court, which gauges public opinion in such morality-linked cases.
But with a swing vote in the nine-member Supreme Court, Justice Anthony Kennedy, already ruling in favor of gays in two important cases -- and no signs of court conservatives retiring soon -- the Los Angeles-based filmmaker group decided to act.
"You get into the habit, which I think is a good one, of going for it," said Cohen. "From the political world we bring the knowledge that there is no such thing as a sure thing. From the Hollywood world, everything is a one in a million chance." Continued...
Source: Reuters