Gay & Lesbian Books
Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry
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Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
Author: Evan Wolfson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $10.40
You Save: $ 2.60 ( 20% )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
Author: Evan Wolfson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Average Customer Rating:
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Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 305
EAN: 9780743264594
ISBN: 0743264592
Label: Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 256
Publication Date: 2005-05-24
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Studio: Simon & Schuster
Dewey Decimal Number: 305
EAN: 9780743264594
ISBN: 0743264592
Label: Simon & Schuster
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 256
Publication Date: 2005-05-24
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Studio: Simon & Schuster
Editorial Review of Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry
"At its core, the freedom-to-marry movement is about the same thing every civil rights struggle has been about: taking seriously our country's promise to be a nation its citizens can make better, its promise to be a place where people don't have to give up their differences or hide them in order to be treated equally."
Why Marriage Matters offers a compelling, intelligently reasoned discussion of a question at the forefront of our national consciousness. It is the work of one of the most influential attorneys in America, who has dedicated his life to the protection of individuals' rights and our Constitution's commitment to equal justice under the law. Above all, it is a clear, straightforward book that brings into sharp focus the very human significance of the right to marry in America -- not just for some couples, but for all.
Why is the word marriage so important? Will marriage for same-sex couples hurt the "sanctity" of the institution? How can people of different faiths reconcile their beliefs with the idea of marriage for same-sex couples? How will allowing gay couples to marry affect children?
In this quietly powerful volume, the most authoritative and fairly articulated book on the subject, Wolfson demonstrates why the right to marry is important -- indeed necessary -- for all couples and for America's promise of equality.
Customer Reviews of Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: This book gives a realistic, positive perspective to gays gaining the right to marry....
Review: This is a book EVERY American should read. Because whether you are gay or love someone who is, Evan puts the issue of 'marriage equality' into a hopeful, just perspective that will have you saying, "It's okay that it's going to take awhile, state by state, but marriage equality WILL happen." Evan does a great job of comparing how the struggle for marriage equality is exactly like other American civil right's struggles that were eventually resolved because Americans are, on the whole, fair-minded and America was founded to be a fair-minded country. Evan also reminds us that we can't just sit back and wait for others to fight for this right - we too must still continue to fight, if we want marriage equality. In fact, if I understand him correctly, the more we fight, and the smarter we fight, the faster marriage equality will become the law of this land! Thanks Evan, for helping me keep my chin up as I do my part to create this reality!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: expected more
Review: I just finished Evan Wolfson's Why Marriage Matters, and although I am salivating at the thought of spending the rest of my night immersed in a tirade that focuses on what this book lacks, I will limit myself to describing one and only one glaring deficiency. Here it is. Come election time much of the hoopla surrounding gay marriage rights stems directly from those Christian conservatives that consider themselves among the moral elite. The self-described Christian "moral majority" is surprisingly effective at turning what is actually a civil rights and anti-discrimination issue into a moral issue. Because this is the nature of the one of the most powerful forces that is against us, if we are to put gay marriage rights on firm footing, the foundation must be a moral one. Granted, there is probably little hope for the hardcore dogmatists, but let's suppose they are all old and on the cusp of a trek through the pearly gates of heaven. Aside from those people, I am convinced that social conservatives can be convinced. Now, it would be nice if we could make all our very well-justified legal arguments in favor of gay marriage, be granted our legal rights, and be done with it. But, if we are going to gain any legal ground in conservative states, we must present damn good arguments that show three things: 1) one's sexual orientation is not a lifestyle choice, 2) same-sex sex is not morally wrong, and 3) same-sex marriage is not morally wrong. Wolfson doesn't do either in Why Marriage Matters. I was hoping he would give a point-by-point rebuttal of all the arguments from moral depravity that are flung like mud on groups of people who express a non-heteronormative sexualty, but I was disappointed. Maybe someday soon somebody will do us this service. But enough of that. On a positive note, Wolfson's book was easy to read. On another positive note, he drew strong analogies between the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s and the gay rights movement of the last two decades. One thing that becomes apparrent as we consider the parallels between these two movements is how badly the gay civil rights movement needs a leader like the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Good primer on the next major civil rights issue
Review: Do gays have the right to marry? This is emerging as the next civil rights issue to cross the American political scene. Attorney Evan Wolfson answers this question with a resounding yes, and uses this book to back up his answer. His central point is that marriage is a relationship, and being in it can and does bring joy to gay couples just as much as it does to heterosexual couples. And since the Declaration of Independence states that all humans have the right to the pursuit of happiness, government should not prevent two individuals from getting married. The author also examines other issues regarding gay marriage, such as child adoption, insurance benefits, gay divorces, inheritance rights, etc... The author also takes on arguments against gay marriage, and refutes them using historical and legal arguments. All in all, a good book to help understand the current, and growing issue of gay marriage.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The best book there is on why marriage is for ALL Americans
Review: Evan Wolfson's book turned me into a believer. Even after seven years of sharing my life with the man I want to spend the rest of my life with, I still didn't think it mattered whether we were married or not. "Why Marriage Matters" changed that -- we had to fly to Canada to get married, but we did what we had to do, and now I've found that marriage has made every facet of our relationship stronger and better. Read this book and you'll begin to see that marriage does matter, and that, frankly, it is un-American to deny any segment of the population basic human rights and priveleges that the United States was created to protect for all its citizens.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Equal Rights, Right On!
Review: Jonathan Rauch and Andrew Sullivan have written pro-gay marriage books, but unlike Wolfson's book, they approach the issue from ancillary perspectives (for example, how it will tame the flames of promiscuity among gay men). Whether these ancillary arguments are persuasive or not really does not matter, because they are not the core of the matter.
Wolfson alone accurately makes equal access to marriage for ALL people a civil rights issue, and that is exactly where it belongs. Whether or not it curbs the promiscuity impulses among gays or not is largely irrelevant. If that happens, fine, but if not, so what?
The Fourteenth Amendment and the Declaration of Independence are not heterosexually-specific, but universally-specific. All of us are entitled to the "pursuit of happiness," no matter our color, religion, nationality, or sexual orientation.
Mutatis mutandis, the same is true for equal protection under the law. People may continue to discriminate against minorities, but at least they cannot do so under the color of law. Denying a minority its right to marriage also discriminates, but when it does so, it does so with the color of law. That's wrong.
All people are entitled to the same rights or they aren't. Denying any segment of the population this right because of their difference from the majority is simply unconstitutional and UnAmerican. Canada, Spain, Belgium, and Holland have righted the wrong. It's time the U.S.A. did likewise.
Review Summary: This book gives a realistic, positive perspective to gays gaining the right to marry....
Review: This is a book EVERY American should read. Because whether you are gay or love someone who is, Evan puts the issue of 'marriage equality' into a hopeful, just perspective that will have you saying, "It's okay that it's going to take awhile, state by state, but marriage equality WILL happen." Evan does a great job of comparing how the struggle for marriage equality is exactly like other American civil right's struggles that were eventually resolved because Americans are, on the whole, fair-minded and America was founded to be a fair-minded country. Evan also reminds us that we can't just sit back and wait for others to fight for this right - we too must still continue to fight, if we want marriage equality. In fact, if I understand him correctly, the more we fight, and the smarter we fight, the faster marriage equality will become the law of this land! Thanks Evan, for helping me keep my chin up as I do my part to create this reality!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: expected more
Review: I just finished Evan Wolfson's Why Marriage Matters, and although I am salivating at the thought of spending the rest of my night immersed in a tirade that focuses on what this book lacks, I will limit myself to describing one and only one glaring deficiency. Here it is. Come election time much of the hoopla surrounding gay marriage rights stems directly from those Christian conservatives that consider themselves among the moral elite. The self-described Christian "moral majority" is surprisingly effective at turning what is actually a civil rights and anti-discrimination issue into a moral issue. Because this is the nature of the one of the most powerful forces that is against us, if we are to put gay marriage rights on firm footing, the foundation must be a moral one. Granted, there is probably little hope for the hardcore dogmatists, but let's suppose they are all old and on the cusp of a trek through the pearly gates of heaven. Aside from those people, I am convinced that social conservatives can be convinced. Now, it would be nice if we could make all our very well-justified legal arguments in favor of gay marriage, be granted our legal rights, and be done with it. But, if we are going to gain any legal ground in conservative states, we must present damn good arguments that show three things: 1) one's sexual orientation is not a lifestyle choice, 2) same-sex sex is not morally wrong, and 3) same-sex marriage is not morally wrong. Wolfson doesn't do either in Why Marriage Matters. I was hoping he would give a point-by-point rebuttal of all the arguments from moral depravity that are flung like mud on groups of people who express a non-heteronormative sexualty, but I was disappointed. Maybe someday soon somebody will do us this service. But enough of that. On a positive note, Wolfson's book was easy to read. On another positive note, he drew strong analogies between the civil rights movement of the 50s and 60s and the gay rights movement of the last two decades. One thing that becomes apparrent as we consider the parallels between these two movements is how badly the gay civil rights movement needs a leader like the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Good primer on the next major civil rights issue
Review: Do gays have the right to marry? This is emerging as the next civil rights issue to cross the American political scene. Attorney Evan Wolfson answers this question with a resounding yes, and uses this book to back up his answer. His central point is that marriage is a relationship, and being in it can and does bring joy to gay couples just as much as it does to heterosexual couples. And since the Declaration of Independence states that all humans have the right to the pursuit of happiness, government should not prevent two individuals from getting married. The author also examines other issues regarding gay marriage, such as child adoption, insurance benefits, gay divorces, inheritance rights, etc... The author also takes on arguments against gay marriage, and refutes them using historical and legal arguments. All in all, a good book to help understand the current, and growing issue of gay marriage.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The best book there is on why marriage is for ALL Americans
Review: Evan Wolfson's book turned me into a believer. Even after seven years of sharing my life with the man I want to spend the rest of my life with, I still didn't think it mattered whether we were married or not. "Why Marriage Matters" changed that -- we had to fly to Canada to get married, but we did what we had to do, and now I've found that marriage has made every facet of our relationship stronger and better. Read this book and you'll begin to see that marriage does matter, and that, frankly, it is un-American to deny any segment of the population basic human rights and priveleges that the United States was created to protect for all its citizens.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Equal Rights, Right On!
Review: Jonathan Rauch and Andrew Sullivan have written pro-gay marriage books, but unlike Wolfson's book, they approach the issue from ancillary perspectives (for example, how it will tame the flames of promiscuity among gay men). Whether these ancillary arguments are persuasive or not really does not matter, because they are not the core of the matter.
Wolfson alone accurately makes equal access to marriage for ALL people a civil rights issue, and that is exactly where it belongs. Whether or not it curbs the promiscuity impulses among gays or not is largely irrelevant. If that happens, fine, but if not, so what?
The Fourteenth Amendment and the Declaration of Independence are not heterosexually-specific, but universally-specific. All of us are entitled to the "pursuit of happiness," no matter our color, religion, nationality, or sexual orientation.
Mutatis mutandis, the same is true for equal protection under the law. People may continue to discriminate against minorities, but at least they cannot do so under the color of law. Denying a minority its right to marriage also discriminates, but when it does so, it does so with the color of law. That's wrong.
All people are entitled to the same rights or they aren't. Denying any segment of the population this right because of their difference from the majority is simply unconstitutional and UnAmerican. Canada, Spain, Belgium, and Holland have righted the wrong. It's time the U.S.A. did likewise.