Marc Solomon, a prominent activist for the marriage equality movement and author of “Winning Marriage,” visited the University’s Miller Center for a taping of the weekly discussion show “American Forum,” which airs on PBS.
Solomon is the national campaign director for Freedom to Marry, which led the campaign fighting for the legal right to same-sex marriage in the United States.
“We were interested in exploring both the question of how American attitudes on gay marriage changed so quickly, and also where that movement goes next,” said Douglas Blackmon, executive producer and host of the show. “There have been several books on the equal marriage phenomenon, but Solomon's is probably the best, and he is an articulate voice for describing what lies ahead."
Solomon and Blackmon, executive producer and host of “American Forum,” spoke mainly about the process by which the movement engaged Americans via culture.
“It was a social movement, a result of 15-30 years of telling stories with the ultimate goal of getting the Supreme Court to rule the way it did,” Solomon said. “Ten to 15 years ago, they wouldn’t have ruled this way.”
Blackmon asked why the movement pushed specifically for the traditional marriage model as opposed to an alternative. Solomon said the latter would be alienating for many same sex couples.
Discussions such as this one are hosted weekly at the Miller Center. They’re informative and interesting, Blackmon said, but the program has an important function outside entertainment.
“Hardly anyone has time to sift through hundreds of books and articles and interviews, looking for the little diamonds that may illuminate complicated issues,” Blackmon said. “We do that, while always looking for the ways that lessons of history might give some guidance on how best to make decisions today.”
Fourth-year College student Elizabeth Spear, who attended the event, said discussions like these are important because they are a good forum for “civilized debate.” However, she didn’t feel Blackmon and Solomon gave enough credit to the power of popular media.
“It’s also important to remember the role the younger generation played,” Spear said.
American Forum will next host University Law Prof. Brandon Garrett on Dec. 10.
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