Today we find ourselves at a crossroads of two powerful, unrelenting currents that are completely at odds with one another. The movement for legal recognition of same-sex unions has gone beyond the separate but equal status of civil unions to demand equality in marriage for all couples. Progress is being made on many fronts: mayoral action, clergy officiating at same-sex marriage and union ceremonies, state legislative responses, and street protests, to name a few. Meanwhile, opposition to same-sex marriage has also been gathering strength. The struggle is sure to continue unabated for some time to come, pitting those who believe in the traditional definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman--and who seek to codify this belief in the U.S. Constitution--against those who find the basis for marriage between two loving, committed individuals not only in the history of our civil rights legislation and court decisions, but also in scripture and sacred religious traditions. Those who believe in extending to same-sex couples the 1,049 rights conferred by marriage as well as the supportive embrace of religious communities seek to strengthen the institution of marriage by making it inclusive and by passing laws and broadening doctrines to uphold marriage rights for all couples. This three-volume set clarifies the legal, political, religious, cultural, and social ramifications of same-sex marriage for gay and lesbian couples and their families and friends, and for the general public interested in the future of civil rights in the United States.
About the Author: Mark Strasser is Trustees Professor of Law at Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio. He (with Lynn Wardle, William Duncan, and David Coolidge) is co-editor of Marriage and Same-Sex Unions: A Debate (Praeger, 2003), and is the author of On Same-Sex Marriage, Civil Unions, and the Rule of Law: Constitutional Interpretation at the Crossroads (Praeger, 2002), The Challenge of Same-Sex Marriage: Federalist Principles and Constitutional Protections (Praeger, 1999), Legally Wed: Same-Sex Marriage and the Constitution (1997), and three other books. He has written more than sixty articles in the areas of constitutional law, family law, and tort.
Traci C. West is Associate Professor of Ethics and African American Studies at Drew University Theological School in Madison, New Jersey. She is the author of Disruptive Christian Ethics: When Racism and Women's Lives Matter (2006), Wounds of the Spirit: Black Women, Violence, and Resistance Ethics (1999), as well as several articles on violence against women, clergy ethics, racism, sexuality, and other justice issues in church and society. She is an ordained United Methodist minister who has previously served in parish and campus ministry.
Martin Dupuis is the Assistant Dean of the Burnett Honors College and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Central Florida. His research on same-sex marriage and gay and lesbian politics has been published in a number of books and journals.
William A. Thompson is a librarian with the rank of Assistant Professor at Western Illinois University. He has been, is now, and ever shall be, an activist for gay and lesbian concerns.
