Love Unites Us: Winning the Freedom to Marry in America

by Kevin Cathcart (Editor), Leslie Gabel-Brett (Editor), Eric Holder (Introduction)

Victory may sometimes look like a sudden revolution when, in truth, it rests on years of struggle. The June 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges is a sweeping victory for the freedom to marry, but it was one step in a long process. Love Unites Us is the history of activists’ passion and persistence in the struggle for marriage rights for same-sex couples in the United States, told in the words of those who waged the battle.

Launching the fight for the freedom to marry was neither an obvious nor an uncontested strategy. To many activists, achieving marriage equality seemed far-fetched, but the skeptics were proved wrong. Proactive arguments in favor of love, family, and commitment were more effective than arguments that focused on rights and the goal of equality at work. Telling the stories of people who loved and cared for one another, in sickness and in health, cut through the antigay noise and moved people—not without backlash and not overnight, but faster than most activists and observers had ever imagined. With compelling stories from leading attorneys and activists including Evan Wolfson, Mary L. Bonauto, Jon W. Davidson, and Paul M. Smith, Love Unites Us explains how gay and lesbian couples achieved the right to marry.

Genres: Queer

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a gift from my grandmother, whose friend edited it, and whose other friend wrote a piece on Connecticut. How cool! The work covers the legal precedents of the dismantling of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and the path to expansion of marriage rights through the Obergefell v. Hodges case. The content is interesting, but is assembled as a series of essays from persons significant to the cases, including legal professionals, plaintiffs, and activists. As such, the essays run together a bit, and lack a central, cohesive voice. Conversely, however, the personal essays also bring forth the humanistic elements of each of these struggles for marriage rights. It is, after all, the people at the center of each, and the love, that make these cases so triumphant or so devastating. The final section of the book looks forward to other challenges, examining issues that were left behind when the fight for marriage was taken up, somewhat controversially, as the "central" issue for LGBTQ persons. Examples include: access to health care for those living with HIV/AIDS, safety of and protection for transgender people, respect for and safety of LGBTQ[I] people of color, and resources for LGBTQ[I] youth. These final chapters leave a disheartening reminder of how much remains to be done in the struggle for equality.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tells the story of winning marriage equality in the US, largely through the legal cases that were required to get there. It is a compelling read with an incredible amount of history and research and the inclusion of many voices from the LGBTQ rights movement. An essential read for younger people who want to know where their right to marry came from.

The forward-looking essays near the end of the book are especially good as they provide a continuing roadmap from here to a brighter future for LGBTQ Americans.

Overall, highly recommended; considering purchase.

Pairs well with The Book of Pride (Funk).

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent, albeit heartbreaking, read on the right to marry in the United States. This highlights the intersectionality of the right to marry. Those working toward equality had and still have their hands full.

[Mills College Library]

346.73016 L8977 2016

[Anna]

Full review forthcoming in Library Journal. I'm struggling with fatigue over marriage equality titles, since the emphasis on marriage as a marker of queer acceptance is such a double-edged sword. But I really appreciated the multi-vocal aspect of this Lambda Legal title, featuring voices from across the nation and telling pieces of the marriage equality struggle from the 1970s to the present, and beyond. This is very much a "from the trenches" anthology, rather than an overview of the historical narrative, but it is a little too soon to try for that so I'm glad they didn't attempt to tell The Story.

[Julie]

I worked on this book at The New Press. It is wonderful. Read it!