I’d like to share to you this trailer of a compelling documentary I saw a few months ago. It’s called Tying the Knot, and it’s about the fight for gay marriage in America. Why is it so important? Among other things, without a state-recognized union, your partner will be treated pretty much like crap if you die, and you won’t be there to defend them. Yep. God bless America.

Here’s a summary of the film:

When a bank robber’s bullet ends the life of police officer Lois Marrero, her wife of thirteen years, Mickie, is honored as her surviving spouse but denied all pension benefits. When Sam, an Oklahoma rancher, loses his beloved husband of 22 years, long-estranged cousins of his late spouse try to lay claim to everything Sam has. As Mickie and Sam’s lives are put on trial, they are forced to confront the tragic reality that in the eyes of the law their marriages mean nothing. From an historical trip to the Middle Ages, to gay hippies storming the Manhattan marriage bureau in 1971, Tying the Knot digs deeply into the past and present to uncover the meaning of civil marriage in America today.

Go to the film’s website and watch a video clip of the trailer: