hunter of justice

Premiere of film about "Gay Olympics" case

A new film is opening about the Supreme Court case that upheld the right of the U.S. Olympics Committee to stop use of the phrase "gay Olympics." Claiming the Title, which uses the case as a window into examining the lgbt rights movement in the late 1980s, has its world premiere this Sunday the 21st at 3:30 pm at the Castro Theater in San Francisco. The story revolves around the litigation of San Francisco Arts & Athletics Ass'n v. U.S. Olmpics Committee, 483 U.S. 522 (1987).

I've seen it (confession: I'm in it), and I think that the two filmmakers - Jonathan Joiner and Robert Martin - have done a terrific job. In many ways, the film is an homage to Mary Dunlap, the brilliant out-spoken lawyer who was lead counsel for the plaintiffs.

If you're not in the Bay Area, you can see the trailer and watch for the film to show up at a festival near you.

The showing is actually a double-header. Claiming the Title will be followed by a screening of Training Rules, a new film by Dee Mosbacher and Fawn Yacker, about the struggles faced by lesbian athletes.

What a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon - I wish I could be there.

Tributes to Mary Dunlap

Ruth Robson has a lovely post at the Con Law Professors blog about the pioneering work of San Francisco  litigator Mary Dunlap, including a remarkable analysis of gender and sexuality she wrote that was published 30 (!) years ago in the Hastings Law Journal: The Constitutional Rights of Sexual Minorities: A Crisis of the Male/Female Dichotomy, at 30 Hastings L. J. 1131. Mary's article was part of a Symposium on Sexual Preference and Gender Identity.

The movie version is on its way. Jonathan Joiner and Robert Martin have completed a short - Gay Olympics: Claiming the Title - that tells the story of the fight to stop the U.S. Olympic Committee from forbidding Tom Waddell, founder of the Gay Olympics (now the Gay Games), from "polluting" their brand. Since Mary was lead counsel on the case, the film is largely about her, and is dedicated to her and Tom. Shout out to Jonathan and Robert for winning a Frameline Films award.

Watch for it - coming soon to ....