Beyond Same Sex Marriage

Although the debate over same-sex marriage in the United States has ended, no one seems to know what lies on the horizon. The conversation about what marriage could be like in the future is no longer confined to academics. In his dissent in Obergefell, Chief Justice Roberts linked the constitutionally-mandated legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the possibility that states may also have to recognize multi-person intimate relationships as well to avoid discriminating against plural marriage enthusiasts. The popularity of television shows like TLC’s Sister Wives and HBO’s Big Love suggests that Americans no longer can be dismissive of the possibility that in the foreseeable future, marriage could, and perhaps should, look very different than it does today. Rather than settling the question of whether states ought to abolish marriage, make it more inclusive, contractual, or call it something else, this book exposes readers to some of the normative, legal, and empirical questions that Americans must address before they can deliberate thoughtfully about whether to keep the marital status quo where monogamy remains privileged. Unlike much of the debate over same-sex marriage, they exchange reasons with one another as they discuss marital reform. This book is for ordinary Americans, their elected representatives, and judges, to help them ultimately decide whether they want to continue to define marriage so narrowly, make it more inclusive to avoid discrimination, or have the state leave the marriage business. This edited, interdisciplinary volume contains eight original contributions, all of which illuminate important but often neglected areas of the topic.

The debate over marriage equality for same-sex couples rages across the country. Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage boldly moves the discussion forward by focusing on the larger, more fundamental issue of marriage and the law. The root problem, asserts law professor and LGBT rights activist Nancy Polikoff, is that marriage is a bright dividing line between those relationships that legally matter and those that don't. A woman married to a man for nine months is entitled to Social Security survivor's benefits when he dies; a woman living for nineteen years with a man or woman to whom she is not married receives nothing. Polikoff reframes the debate by arguing that all family relationships and households need the economic stability and emotional peace of mind that now extend only to married couples. Unmarried couples of any sexual orientation, single-parent households, extended family units, and myriad other familial configurations need recognition and protection to meet the concerns they all share: building and sustaining economic and emotional interdependence, and nurturing the next generation. Couples should have the choice to marry based on the spiritual, cultural, or religious meaning of marriage in their lives, asserts Polikoff. While marriage equality for same-sex couples is a civil rights victory, she contends that no one should have to marry in order to reap specific and unique legal results. A persuasive argument that married couples should not receive special rights denied to other families, Polikoff shows how the law can value all families, and why it must.

In this book, Susan Gluck Mezey examines LGBT policymaking over the last several decades, highlighting advances in LGBT rights as well as formidable challenges that still confront the LGBT community. With an emphasis on courts, she traces developments in the struggles for LGBT rights in the United States and abroad. The chapters focus on employment discrimination, transgender rights, marriage equality, and the ongoing battles over discrimination against same-sex couples and transgender persons in education, employment, and public accommodations. It also adds a global perspective by appraising issues affecting LGBT rights in other parts of the world, discussing claims of discrimination in the Canadian and South African courts as well as in the European Court of Human Rights. Mezey provides a succinct and accessible guide to the debates over sexual orientation and gender identity, evaluating the roles played by state and federal courts, legislatures, and chief executives in formulating and implementing LGBT policy. Suitable as an up-to-date resource for anyone interested in LGBT rights, Beyond Marriage will also help students in upper-level classes focusing on judicial politics, public policymaking, family law, civil rights, gender policy, and minority group politics understand ways forward for the LGBT community in the political realm.

The author of Queer in America offers “brilliant advice” for safeguarding the future of gay rights (The Advocate). Marriage equality is the law of the land. Closet doors have burst open in business, entertainment, and even major league sports. But as Michelangelo Signorile argues in his most provocative book yet, the excitement of such breathless change makes this moment more dangerous than ever. Signorile marshals stinging evidence that an age-old hatred, homophobia, is still a basic fact of American life. He exposes the bigotry of the brewing religious conservative backlash against LGBT rights and challenges the complacency and hypocrisy of supposed allies in Washington, the media, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood. Just as racism did not disappear with the end of Jim Crow laws or the election of Barack Obama, discrimination and hostility toward gay Americans hasn’t vanished simply by virtue of a Supreme Court decision. Not just a wake-up call, It’s Not Over is also a battle plan for the fights to come in the march toward equality. Signorile tells the stories of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans who have refused to be merely tolerated and are demanding full acceptance. He documents signs of hope in schools and communities finding new ways to combat ignorance, bullying, and fear. Urgent and empowering, It’s Not Over is a necessary book from “one of America’s most incisive critics and influential activists in the movement for gay equality” (The Intercept).

The legal status of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people has undergone significant changes in several countries, but remains highly complex and difficult for those affected. Although same-sex partners may have the right to marry or enter into a registered partnership in one Member State, this right may be denied when they exercise their right to freedom of movement. The same is true for certain parent-child relationships, which may be recognized as such in one Member State but not another. This book explores the challenges and controversies concerning the recognition of non-heterosexual relationships throughout the EU through the lens of EU legislation, the case law of the CJEU and ECtHR, and recent national developments. Following the Irish referendum and the recent ECtHR judgment in Oliari v. Italy, more changes are expected in the near future. The opening part of this book describes the current state of play in all EU Member States (and beyond) when formalizing a same-sex relationship, 'steady progress' being the key term in describing the developments in many countries (with the exception of six Eastern European States that object to legislation in this field). The second part concentrates on parenthood and children's rights, notably adoption, surrogacy, multiple parenting, and the range of parenting rights for same-sex couples, and transsexual and transgender people. The third section on gender identity and human rights, discusses the legal aftermath of the European Court of Human Rights' judgment in Oliari, condemning Italy for failing to protect homosexuals' right to family life. Furthermore, it explains European Union legislation against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation, and the challenges lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender applicants are confronted with when reaching Europe as refugees. The book ends with a lively debate on the right to change one's legal gender, and it raises the fundamental question of whether we still need gender as a legal category or whether laws concerning partnership and parenting could feasibly be de-gendered. Does gender matter in the EU? This book is written for both the academic and professional readership. (Series: European Family Law, Vol. 42) [Subject: Human Rights Law, Family Law, EU Law]

Same-sex marriage has become one of the defining social issues in contemporary U.S. politics. State court decisions finding in favor of same-sex relationship equality claims have been central to the issue’s ascent from nowhere to near the top of the national political agenda. Same Sex Marriage in the United States tells the story of the legal and cultural shift, its backlash, and how it has evolved over the past 15 years. This book aids in a classroom examination of the legal, political, and social developments surrounding the issue of same-sex marriage in the United States. While books about same-sex marriage have proliferated in recent years, few, if any, have provided a clear and comprehensive account of the litigation for same-sex marriage, and its successes and failures, as this book does. Updated through 2013, this edition details the watershed rulings in favor of same-sex marriage: the Supreme Court's June 26th repeal of DOMA, and of Proposition 8 in California, as well as the many states (New Jersey, Illinois, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Nevada among others) where activists and public leaders have made recent strides to ensure that gay couples have an equal right to marry.

Part of the Queer Ideas series, edited by Michael Bronski QUEER IDEAS-a new series of LGBT hardcovers that address important intellectual questions facing the movement. The debate over marriage equality for same-sex couples rages across the country. Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage boldly moves the discussion forward by focusing on the larger, more fundamental issue of marriage and the law. The root problem, asserts law professor and LGBT rights activist Nancy Polikoff, is that marriage is a bright dividing line between those relationships that legally matter and those that don't. A woman married to a man for nine months is entitled to Social Security survivor's benefits when he dies; a woman living for nineteen years with a man or woman to whom she is not married receives nothing. Polikoff reframes the debate by arguing that all family relationships and households need the economic stability and emotional peace of mind that now extend only to married couples. Unmarried couples of any sexual orientation, single-parent households, extended family units, and myriad other familial configurations need recognition and protection to meet the concerns they all share: building and sustaining economic and emotional interdependence, and nurturing the next generation. Couples should have the choice to marry based on the spiritual, cultural, or religious meaning of marriage in their lives, asserts Polikoff. While marriage equality for same-sex couples is a civil rights victory, she contends that no one should have to marry in order to reap specific and unique legal results. A persuasive argument that married couples should not receive special rights denied to other families, Polikoff shows how the law can value all families, and why it must. "A much-needed intervention in the contemporary debate about marriage and family. Polikoff's argument is provocative, illuminating, and original." -John D'Emilio, author of Lost Prophet: The Life and Times of Bayard Rustin "Polikoff mobilizes an impressive array of legal history and contemporary court cases to show how marriage, whether same-sex or heterosexual, has ceased to be the only place where people incur long-term obligations. She argues vigorously that our society needs to find new ways of determining when legally-enforceable responsibilities and entitlements have accrued in interpersonal relationships." -Stephanie Coontz, author, Marriage, A History: How Love Conquered Marriage "This book really matters. It is brilliant and thoughtful, not simply about a set of laws, but as a manifesto to transform the way we understand, recognize and respect the reality of our diverse and complex family compositions. Polikoff grounds her arguments in the 35 year history of social change activism in this country to construct a passionate and nuanced argument for expanding our same sex marriage activism to include all of the ways people love, form families and build community." -Amber Hollibaugh, Senior Strategist, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and author of My Dangerous Desires: A Queer Girl Dreaming her Way Home "Passionate but completely grounded in reality, Polikoff challenges LGBT rights advocates to see beyond gay equality arguments and question the fundamental fairness of limiting family recognition based on marriage, gay or straight. It is a powerful call for social justice." -Nan D. Hunter, founder of the American Civil Liberties Union Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project and Professor of Law, Brooklyn Law School "A provocative and perspicuous intervention in one of the most devilish recent debates in U.S. law and politicshellip;In a principled yet pragmatic analysis, Polikoff mounts a compelling case against the continued grip of 'conjugalism'on our family law and policy. Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage challenges us

On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled by a 5 to 4 vote that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. This anthology provides your readers with a complete overview of the debate about same-sex marriage. It contains a diverse collection of writings representing leading conservative, liberal, and centrist views of the issues surrounding the topic. Each chapter presents an important question about the subject, and the opinions that follow are grouped into "yes" and "no" categories. By evaluating contrasting opinions, readers can attain an objective knowledge.