Desire for Prop. 8 dialogue outweighing boycott

PARK CITY — When news of the LDS Church's support for California's same-sex marriage ban broke, many called for a boycott of Utah, including the Sundance Film Festival.

Ellen Huang decided her voice was louder than silence.

"We needed to be there," said the founder of the Queer Lounge, a Main Street staple for the past five years. "It was more important that we shout at the top of our lungs to keep the dialogue about Proposition 8 open."

That conversation has included some big-name actors along the way.

Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor, who play gay lovers in the Sundance release "I Love You Phillip Morris," held a press junket at the lounge. Benjamin Bratt has discussed homophobia in Hispanic and American Indian communities, a major theme in his movie "La Mission."

"The filmmakers come here with a focus," Huang said. "If they get their films out there and seen, they're battling a great battle."

Huang said she understands the anger that followed Proposition 8's passage.

"Right after Proposition 8 there was a lot of acrimony," Huang said. "People are very passionate when they have their rights taken away. Some of that anger was generalized toward Utah.

"Those people who are calling for boycotts don't understand all the layers that are needed to do this."

While the festival has been decidedly smaller this year, Huang and others pointed to the struggling economy and Barack Obama's inauguration as the biggest reasons.

"I don't feel it anymore," Huang said. "I don't feel the anger. They're not picketing. If they're boycotting, it's silent."

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