As the issue of same-sex marriage fills headlines almost daily since the Supreme Court struck down D.O.M.A. it may seem like gay rights are steam-rolling along. It’s a nice thought but far from the truth in many parts of this country where being gay is still not accepted by the community, and can be the reason that you still lose your job, house and family. Much of the progress that is being made however is due to a growing number of gay people who have battled their own fears and shame and broken through barriers to really make a difference by seeking elected public office. They dared to believe in something which society had claimed was impossible, and by acting on an overwhelming desire to live meaningful lives have shown us all that ‘anything is possible’ for any gay person.Filmmaker Cindy Abel’s wonderfully uplifting documentary is of openly LGBT elected officials who generously and unguardedly tell their highly personal and touching stories of how they overcame their self-doubt and multiple obstacles ranging from race and poverty to gender and sexual orientation to achieve their ambitions. Abel’s film covered a whole realm of people including Phyllis Frye the very first Transgender Judge to John Perez, California’s first gay Assembly Speaker. and focused on three individuals in particular who had such powerful stories.
Alex Wan is a first generation American who was bullied for being Asian, a geek and gay. His father, who had suffered discrimination in the 60’s, tried to persuade his son not to run for Office, although Wan believed that being gay would be much much of a barrier than being Asian. He became the first Asian/American and first gay member of Atlanta City Council, and is still the only openly LGBT Asian/American elected official in the Deep South.
Kathy Webb was the first openly LGBT person elected in Arkansas in 2007 and has served in the House of Representatives and chaired the Budget Committee too.
Tammy Baldwin is the most famous of the three having very recently become the first ever openly LGBT person to be elected to the US Senate. Hers is probably also the most remarkable of all the stories. She never knew her father and her mother struggled with prescription drug addiction so she was raised by her grandparents, determined to prove her worth. A high school stand-out, she then double-majored in government and mathematics at Smith College. Coming to terms with being lesbian, she was initially convinced that she would have to choose between living openly and her career dreams. Tapped to run for office, she determined to do so openly. While supportive, her grandmother was afraid, perhaps foretelling of later death threats.
What all three had…. and indeed all the others that Abel profiled …..was exceptional courage and this selfless dedication to making a difference even when it meant sacrificing their personal privacy. It seems that when you are gay and in the limelight you are expected to perform way beyond those of your ‘straight’ colleagues whose every actions are not analysed and scrutinised in such detail. However as each of them detailed the enormous opposition often by people in the same party and caucus, none of them regretted being open about their sexuality. As Barney Frank articulated that when you point out that when discriminative legislation affects you and your partner, it makes the whole issue so much personal, and thus makes it much more difficult for colleagues to vote against it.
To be fair to them all, none of them got elected because they were gay …..in most cases it was despite that fact ….. and without any exception, none of them became single-issue politicians. What distinguishes them from their heterosexual colleagues is the fact they celebrate the fact that they were elected to represent all their constituents and do so without any prejudice.
Its a heartwarming and joyous record of how refreshing progress in society can be at times, and how a few people can do so much good for so many.
Unmissable.
