Colorado U.S. Rep.-elect Jared Polis and his partner, Marlon Reis, will be among those boycotting the Century Boulder Theatre on Sunday. The movie house plans to show the film “Milk,” based on the story of Harvey Milk, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and pioneer in the gay-rights movement who was gunned down in 1978. The theater company owner’s CEO, Alan Stock, donated $9,999 to California’s Yes On 8 campaign to prohibit gays from marrying.
“I think it’s great people are voting with their wallets and hopefully going to see this movie elsewhere,” Polis told the Denver Post. “Seeing it here (Century Boulder Theatre) contradicts everything Harvey Milk stood for.”
Polis, elected this month, is Colorado’s first openly gay congressman. According to the Denver daily, he will join an expected 100 or more protesters at the Century Boulder Theatre between 3 and 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The theater is in Boulder at 28th Street and Canyon Boulevard.
Since voters approved Proposition 8 on Nov. 4, gays and lesbians have targeted California, as well as Utah, for boycotts. As the Colorado Independent reported last week, the call to boycott is reminiscent of Colorado in 1992 after Amendment 2, when voters approved a measure prohibiting gays and lesbians from seeking protected status. The U.S. Supreme Court struck the measure down as unconstitutional four years later.
This year, the Mormon Church and many of its members poured money into California’s Proposition 8, hence the call to boycott heavily Mormon Utah, which is also home to the Sundance Film Festival, world-class skiing, and $6 billion a year worth of tourism.
In Colorado, “Milk” is also being shown at the Mayan Theater in Denver, an independent moviehouse.
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