As a filmmaker, I have dedicated the past 10 years primarily to historical documentaries, most of them focused on China. Through the research I’ve conducted for these films, I’ve learned a thing or two about world history, politics and oppression.
I grew up in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, which took me from the cold war to a season of political unrest, protests and turmoil in America. Most of that time was spent in Hawaii, a state that I viewed as progressive, liberal and forward thinking.
I believed that since then, we had come a long way as a country – continually evolving, growing and harmonizing. After all, we had made it into the twenty-first century, and just elected the first African American president!
Then all of a sudden, I began to receive a slur of emails, mostly from older Christian friends, speaking out against something being debated in our local Hawaii State legislature referred to as “civil unions.” I was shocked by the e-mails, especially by the sensationalistic language and apparent fear. I had no idea what a civil union was or what the LGBT stood for. From my point of view, it simply appeared that the evangelical church was declaring war on the homosexual community.
Wow… a war in America, and right at home in my Hawaiian paradise? Clearly the subject for another film! And thus Chasing Rainbows was born. We began filming events in Honolulu, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston and Washington D.C. in an attempt to get to the absolute bottom of the issues.
I first had to consider if most Christians were actually homophobic – what did most Americans think about Christians?
According to a Barna study by David Kinnaman, these are the percentages of people outside the church who think that the following words accurately describe present-day Christianity:
- Anti-homosexual 91%
- Judgmental 87%
- Hypocritical 85%
- Old-fashioned 78%
- Too political 75%
- Out of touch with reality 72%
- Insensitive to others 70%
- Boring 68%
I was amazed by the turnout of Christians who repeatedly converged on our state capitol to demand the protection of “traditional marriage,” and questioned whether or not any factual or scientific reasoning supported their views.
Then there was the homosexual, or LGBT, side of the issue. We began to explore issues like: what does this community really want? Is there a homosexual agenda that involves militancy? Are they truly being denied rights? Can two LGBT parents head a functional family? Does this kind of relationship threaten traditional marriage in any way?
In Chasing Rainbows, we explore the facts behind what’s driving the civil unions and same sex movement across America, who’s involved and why they believe what they believe.
We took a fair and impartial look at each of the components involved in the proposed civil unions law and how they might affect Hawaii, and along the way met with the many people and factions that are either for or against such a law. We listened to what they had to say and learned why they have taken the stance that they do.
We talked with the legislators and others who crafted and introduced the civil unions bill and those who vehemently opposed it. We talked with clergy on both sides of the issue and examined their differing views.
We chatted with professional psychologists and legal experts to try and determine the effects of a civil unions law. We looked at what has happened in other states and bring you revealing stories from people who have been impacted by similar laws.
In Chasing Rainbows we meet, spend time with and get to know a few of the people in Hawaii that would benefit from such a law – and along the way we ask you, the people of America, what you know, think and believe, and why.
In Chasing Rainbows we take you down a fact-finding path in search of the truth. It’s our goal to be accountable to you and provide a fair, unbiased and detailed view of all the issues involved. In the end it will be up to you to decide just how you feel about civil unions and same-sex marriage, but we’ll warn you: the truth may be surprising.