Accidental Activists

Mandi Wright followed and documented the five-year journey of Jayne Rowse and April DeBoer, who initially were looking to overturn Michigan's law that kept them from joint custody of their adopted children. But when a federal judge recommended they challenge the state's same-sex marriage ban instead, the partner's lawyers amended their lawsuit and argued against Michigan's constitutional amendment that prevented them from marrying and from joint custody of their children. The couple's case eventually joined the federal lawsuit that went to the U.S. Supreme Court in the historic case that brought marriage equality to the entire country. ==Cast==

• April DeBoer • Jayne Rowseas • Carole Stanyar (lawyer who argued their case) • Dana Nessel (lawyer who argued their case, now Michigan Attorney General, and the first openly gay person elected to that position) ==Background and history==

Before any lawsuits are filed, DeBoer and Rowse, both nurses, are living together as a couple, and have four adopted children. DeBoer adopted two of the children and Rowse the other two, because Michigan wouldn't allow joint adoption due to their status as a same-sex couple, but single people were allowed to adopt. When a truck traveling in the wrong lane nearly hit their car head-on, it was a wake-up call for the couple. They realized there was very little they could do to make sure the other one would get custody of the children of the other partner, if one of them unexpectedly died. In order to prevent this scenario from happening, the couple started looking for ways to protect their children. They started putting wills and trusts in place, but those documents basically had no legal status, because it would be within a judge's discretion to award that child to someone else. ==Reviews==

A review in Workers World was very blunt is stating that the film "reminds us of the serious harm done to countless real families by so-called defenders of 'traditional marriage' ... and now these bigots ... think they can get away with blatant discrimination through anti-LGBTQ laws justified on the basis of hateful 'sincerely held religious beliefs'." The National Press Photographers Association said the movie is "both polished and gritty and mostly a mixture of digital single-lens reflex camera and iPhone stills and video footage. It shows what still photographers can do when they have a solid story and the support of an editor who encourages strong visual storytelling". ==See also==