The Constitution Project collaborators David Boies and Theodore Olson appear in the new film, The Case Against 8, which chronicles the legal battle to overturn California’s Proposition 8. The law, passed in 2008 denied gay couples in the state the right to vote. Boies and Olson were at the center of the successful legal effort to overturn the Proposition. Both men recently appeared at the Sundance Film Festival premiere of the documentary, and declared that they remain committed to legalizing gay marriage throughout the country.
Remembering Benjamin Franklin on His Birthday
January 17th is the 308th of Benjamin Franklin, author, printer, inventor, diplomat, scientist, postmaster and politician extraordinaire. Franklin’s contributions to science and culture can’t be overstated. But luckily, for a man who was so right about so many things, there is one thing Franklin got wrong: After the writing of the Constitution, Franklin predicted that the new government would last about 10 years. He and the other delegates who wrote the Constitution would be amazed to learn that their new form of government has flourished for over 220 years. Watch our film, Creating a Constitution, to learn how Franklin and men like George Washington and James Madison created a government that has exceeded even their most optimistic expectations.
Shriver Report Reminds Us that Lilly Ledbetter’s Fight for Pay Equality Continues
Earlier this week the Center for American Progress and Maria Shriver released The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back From the Brink. The report exposed the continued wage gap that exists between men and women in the United States. Closing the gap would have a monumental impact on the nation’s economy, cutting the poverty rate in half for working women and adding an estimated nearly half a trillion dollars to the national economy. To learn more about this topic, watch our award-winning film, A Call to Act, about crusader Lilly Ledbetter and her fight for equal pay for women. Lilly lost her case before the Supreme Court but she remained undeterred. Her determination eventually led to the passage of the landmark Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2007. The act, the first legislation signed into law by President Obama, makes it easier for employees to challenge pay discrimination in court.
