At a demonstration yesterday in Boulder, more than fifty gay-rights advocates, joined by newly elected Congressman Jared Polis, raised their voices in protest against the Cinemark movie-theater chain, whose owner, Alan Stock, donated $9,999 to a California campaign to outlaw gay marriage. But the timing of the event made more sense nationally than locally. A boycott by an organization called No Milk for Cinemark! timed the rallies in Colorado and beyond to the November 26 opening of Milk, a Gus Van Sant film about Harvey Milk, an openly gay politician who was assassinated less than a year after being elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
Only problem: At this writing, Milk isn't playing in Boulder. And neither is it appearing at any other Cinemark theater in the state of Colorado (the firm also owns movie venues in Aurora, Lakewood, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Greeley and Pueblo). So what to do if you agree with this cause? Go see Milk, which has won raves in Westword and many other publications, at a theater owned by some other corporation before it even hits Cinemark screens in these parts. That way, the symbol of the protest won't be missing in action. -- Michael Roberts
