Publication date:
08 March 2013Length of book:
266 pagesPublisher
Rowman & Littlefield PublishersISBN-13: 9781442212046
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. There is a clear story of jurisprudential evolution with regards to same-sex marriage from Hawaii, through Vermont, Massachusetts, New Jersey, California, Connecticut, and, remarkably, Iowa in 2009. 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.
Pierceson tells the story of the significant and, by any standard, surprisingly rapid legal and political shift that has taken place with regard to same-sex marriage in the US over the past 20 years. The controversial topic brings into play major dimensions of US polity and political culture: federalism, the role of the courts, and the role of religion in politics and law. Background chapters on developments between 1950 and 1990 as well as same-sex marriage around the world provide context for the examination of litigation. Chapters on developments in the Midwest, East, and South are followed by one on same-sex marriage and the Supreme Court. The analysis, careful and well documented, is a work of advocacy scholarship. The movement toward same-sex marriage is described as "progressive" and attempts to stop or reverse these developments are described as a backlash to this progress. Natural law, on which opponents of same-sex marriage rely, is described as "deeply sexist and heterosexist." Informative up-to-date review and analysis of one of the defining issues of the polity. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels.