Yes, it's convoluted: Texas activists are protesting a movie theater corporation gaining revenue by showing a pro-gay movie, because the corporation CEO (but NOT the corporation) donated money to support traditional marriage in California (Proposition 8).
-- From "Gay rights protestors to boycott Cinemark’s showing of ‘Milk’" by Heather M. Smith, Staff writer, Plano Courier Star 12/12/08
Friday night protestors gathered to boycott showings of the recently released movie “Milk” at the Cinemark Legacy in Plano. The protestors are expected to return on Saturday.
“Milk,” starring Sean Penn, is about Harvey Milk, a gay rights activist from the 1970s.
Israel Luna, a gay independent filmmaker from Dallas, serves as segment producer for DVtv, Dallas Voice’s online video news outlet. This is the first time Luna has organized a protest. He said the recent controversy surrounding Cinemark and the movie inspired him to get involved.
Luna said he first learned of the protests around the country on FaceBook and through the campaign “No Milk for Cinemark.”
“This issue is important because we want to give a message to people in higher positions that if they have an archaic way of thinking, there will be consequences,” Luna said.
The issue that sparked Luna’s involvement in the protest is that Cinemark CEO Alan Stock contributed $9,999 to Yes on 8, the campaign to outlaw same-sex marriage in California. Now Cinemark, the nation’s third-largest theater chain, will profit from showings of “Milk.”
In an e-mailed statement the Plano-based company released, Cinemark officials said it “did not make any financial contribution to either side on the Proposition 8 vote in California.”
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