Evan Wolfson - The Thesis that Started a Movement

The Simple Heart w/ Wayne Hsiung

Today I’m in preliminary hearings in Sonoma County, California, relating to the mass open rescue of dozens of dying animals from some of the largest factory farms in the nation. In less than two weeks, I’ll face my first felony trial in Transylvania County, North Carolina, where I’m being prosecuted for seeking to protect a baby goat named Rain, who was sick and destined to be killed. It can often feel like all the forces of government are against us – not to mention the rest of society – which is why it’s so important to talk to people like Evan Wolfson, the legendary gay rights activist and lawyer who predicted almost 40 years ago that gay marriage would become a constitutional right. You see, Evan’s story shows us that, when an idea’s time has come, nothing can stop change. In 1983, as a young Harvard law student, Evan wrote a thesis arguing that gay marriage is constitutional right. Most lawyers and scholars scoffed at his argument. He had trouble finding professors who would advise him on his paper. And even many in the movement thought his vision was too radical, and too big. But Evan believed that marriage was the defining campaign of the gay rights movement. It represented everything LGBTQ folks at the time dreamed of – for their love to be celebrated, and legally recognized, rather than shunned. And he was right. Gay marriage became the law of the land when, in 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that it was every citizen’s constitutional right. There’s so much more Evan shares in this podcast, from his personal adventures in Togo to the bitter infighting that nearly tore him from the movement. But above all, as we approach trial, Evan’s words teach us that we have to hold the vision in our hearts, even as powerful institutions try to destroy us. If we do that, even the moments that seem like defeats will ultimately take us down the path to victory. Freedom to Marry Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry Music by Moby: Everything That Rises