Legalizing Gay Marriage

What's the Harm? is an interdisciplinary collection of perspectives on the question of harm-whether legalizing same-sex marriage will cause harm to society, and whether the denial of same-sex marriage causes harm to society. This clarifying and illuminating book explores the societal, familial, individual, and jurisprudential harms of the legalization or prohibition of same-sex marriage. The contributors wrestle with the "what's the harm" question from a variety of academic and professional perspectives, emphasizing the significance and impact of legalizing same-sex marriage for law, government, family relations, and child welfare. What's the Harm? is a valuable resource of diverse insights, arguments, and information that contributes to a deeper understanding of what may be the defining issue of the first decade of the twenty-first century.

."..Badgett offers a rare look at how gay marriage is actually working, by taking readers to a land where it has been legal for same-sex couples to marry since 2001: the Netherlands. Through interviews with married gay couples we learn about the often surprising changes to their relationships, and the reactions of their families and work colleagues. Moreover, Badgett shows how the institution itself has been altered, exploring how the concept of marriage itself has changed in the United States and the Netherlands." "The evidence from around the world shows both that marriage changes gay people more than gay people change marriage and that it is the most liberal countries and states making the first moves to recognize gay couples. In the end, Badgett demonstrates that allowing gay couples to marry does not destroy the institution of marriage and that many gay couples do benefit, in expected as well as surprising ways, from the legal, social, and political rights that the institution offers."--From publisher description.

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR • The riveting story of the conflict over same-sex marriage in the United States—the most significant civil rights breakthrough of the new millennium "Full of intimate details, battling personalities, heated court cases, public persuasion.” —John Williams, The New York Times On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state bans on gay marriage were unconstitutional, making same-sex unions legal across the United States. But the road to that momentous decision was much longer than many know. In this definitive account, Sasha Issenberg vividly guides us through same-sex marriage’s unexpected path from the unimaginable to the inevitable. It is a story that begins in Hawaii in 1990, when a rivalry among local activists triggered a sequence of events that forced the state to justify excluding gay couples from marriage. In the White House, one president signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which elevated the matter to a national issue, and his successor tried to write it into the Constitution. Over twenty-five years, the debate played out across the country, from the first legal same-sex weddings in Massachusetts to the epic face-off over California’s Proposition 8 and, finally, to the landmark Supreme Court decisions of United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges. From churches to hedge funds, no corner of American life went untouched. This richly detailed narrative follows the coast-to-coast conflict through courtrooms and war rooms, bedrooms and boardrooms, to shed light on every aspect of a political and legal controversy that divided Americans like no other. Following a cast of characters that includes those who sought their own right to wed, those who fought to protect the traditional definition of marriage, and those who changed their minds about it, The Engagement is certain to become a seminal book on the modern culture wars.

Same-sex marriages are currently not permitted under Australian federal law. Although same-sex couples in a de facto relationship have had most of the legal rights of married couples since July 2009, there is however no national registered partnership or civil union scheme.

A leading Washington journalist argues that gay marriage is the best way to preserve and protect society's most essential institution Two people meet and fall in love. They get married, they become upstanding members of their community, they care for each other when one falls ill, they grow old together. What's wrong with this picture? Nothing, says Jonathan Rauch, and that's the point. If the two people are of the same sex, why should this chain of events be any less desirable? Marriage is more than a bond between individuals; it also links them to the community at large. Excluding some people from the prospect of marriage not only is harmful to them, but is also corrosive of the institution itself. The controversy over gay marriage has reached a critical point in American political life as liberals and conservatives have begun to mobilize around this issue, pro and con. But no one has come forward with a compelling, comprehensive, and readable case for gay marriage-until now. Jonathan Rauch, one of our most original and incisive social commentators, has written a clear and honest manifesto explaining why gay marriage is important-even crucial-to the health of marriage in America today. Rauch grounds his argument in commonsense, mainstream values and confronting the social conservatives on their own turf. Gay marriage, he shows, is a "win-win-win" for strengthening the bonds that tie us together and for remaining true to our national heritage of fairness and humaneness toward all.

Evidence shows that married couples have better overall health than unmarried people. Scholars and policy makers contend that same-sex marriage provide similar benefits as well. Marriage and Health represents the forefront of marriage and health research on same-sex couples. This collection of essays presents new perspectives that address the challenges faced by same-sex couples in multiple domains of well-being.

Alderson tells the stories of same-sex couples who have actually gotten married, as well as the behind-the-scenes stories that explain the legal victory that made this all possible.

A persuasive history and clearly argued case for same-sex marriage