About the Film - Introduction

Every major social and political issue is brought to the Supreme Court – from abortion to Presidential elections – and the decisions made by its nine justices have real and lasting impacts. Particularly in the realm of civil and human rights, the Court’s power is unequalled. Yet the inner workings of this tribunal remain largely hidden from the public.

What do we really know about how the Supreme Court approaches its most controversial questions? If we could peer behind the Court’s velvet curtain – at the secret struggles and debates, the strategizing and maneuvering, the unseen prejudices and compromises – would we feel more or less confidence in this institution? Would our understanding of the Court’s influence on American society be altered? How might future civil and human rights struggles be shaped by a deeper knowledge of the Court?

One of the most fascinating and revealing aspects of the Court’s hidden history is its inconsistent and sometimes anguished attempts to address gay and lesbian rights. Amid many controversial and politically charged issues, gay rights stands out as the one area the Court worked to avoid for decades. Despite this seeming indifference, gay men and women for more than 50 years have been turning to the Court hoping for fair hearings. In fact, the Supreme Court has heavily influenced the course of gay rights since the 1950s. In more than 80 gay rights cases – those heard as well as those turned away – the Court has had a profound impact not just on individual lives, but on the civil and human rights of millions.

The behind-the-scenes account of how the Supreme Court has handled gay rights is part tragedy, part triumph. Full of cliffhanger moments and reversals of fortune, these are the David-and-Goliath stories of everyday men and women who braved both physical danger and contempt to stand up for their most basic freedoms. Much more than a series of courtroom dramas, however, Behind the Velvet Curtain is the chronicle of a 50-year journey taken by the Court and the society it reflects and governs.

In the early 1950s the F.B.I. and the Postal Service try to silence the fledgling gay movement, seizing the first national gay magazine and declaring the mere acknowledgment of homosexuality obscene.

ABOUT THE FILM

INTRODUCTION

New Year’s Eve 1966, Los Angeles: Police raid a Sunset Boulevard bar and arrest same-sex kissers for lewd conduct, clubbing one patron so badly he loses his spleen. The Supreme Court turns away the case and the “convicted kissers” are forced to register as sex-offenders.