Actor and director Rob Reiner, one of the founders of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which formed to challenge Proposition 8 in the courts, is confident that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision ruling Prop 8 unconstitutional will stand.
"We will prevail," he said in an interview on my SiriusXM radio program two days before the star-studded premiere of “8,” a dramatization of the Prop 8 trial, written in by Dustin Lance Black and which Reiner performs in and helped to bring to the stage. "Whether or not we prevail in California or for the whole country remains to be seen. But we will prevail."
Regarding the star-studded performance of "8," a benefit for AFER and which includes George Clooney, Jamie Lee Curtis, Martin Sheen, Brad Pitt, Christine Lahti, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jane Lynch, and a slew of other big names, Reiner said the play was made to rebut the successful court attempts by Prop 8 proponents to keep videos of the trial from the public.
"We decided we're going to make a play out of it," he said, "and we’re going to let everyone see it. And that’s happening this Saturday, and we also decided we’re going to broadcast it on YouTube."
Reiner spoke about the commitment of HoIlywood actors to the project. "I think it means a lot," he said. "One thing that’s wonderful about the Hollywood community is that we don’t ask for anything in return. We give our time. We give our money. There's no quid pro quo. These are things we believe in. So when George Clooney and Martin Sheen and Brad Pitt show up, it’s because they believe in it. This is not a career move. It’s something they believe deep down."
Of his and his wife Michelle's commitment to the cause of fighting Prop 8, Reiner said: "I was raised in a political family. Civil rights issues were talked about around my kitchen table. People say, 'Do you remember where you were when President Kennedy died?' Well, I remember where I was when Medgar Evers died. This was something I was raised in. [Gay rights] is an extension of the civil rights movement. There are basic civil rights denied to people."
Listen to the full interview with Reiner below:
Also, check out HuffPost Gay Voices blogger Scott Wooledge's slideshow of 10 straight guys we love for supporting LGBT rights:
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