Marriage amendment documentary stirs local tensions

People wanting to know how the campaign for and against Minnesota's proposed amendment banning same-sex marriage could unfold might want to check out a documentary running through Saturday at the Mall of America.

Documentary filmmaker Joe Fox spent three months deep inside both campaigns leading up to the vote on a similar amendment in Maine, which voters ultimately approved.

Fox's documentary focuses more on the personal side of the efforts, the wrenching uncertainties and pressures on the leaders of both campaigns.

"When you get right down to it, it's a very personal story, on either side," said Fox, who is in the Twin Cities promoting his film, "Question 1."

In the film, Marc Mutty, who took a leave as a spokesman for the Diocese of Maine to manage the campaign for the amendment, talks openly about his doubts about the tactics and message of the effort.

"I'm not particularly pleased to be remembered as the star bigot in Maine," he said.

Chuck Darrell, spokesman for Minnesota for Marriage, dismissed Fox's claim that the documentary is a down-the-middle, objective account.

"We are confident that voters agree with us that marriage is the union of one man and one woman," he said.

Fox rejected Darrell's assessment of the movie, saying both sides are presented with nuance and complexity.

Fox said he learned that many same-sex marriage opponents have a similar sense of alienation that gays and lesbians feel.

"There was this sense that their voices were being taken away from them and that the leaders weren't listening to them," said Fox, as states consider legalizing same-sex marriage.