Love Unites Us

Winning the Freedom to Marry in America

Kevin M. Cathcart, Leslie J. Gabel-Brett

• Publisher: The New Press
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781620971772
• Topic: Sciences sociales
• Subtopic: Études LGBT

Firsthand accounts from the attorneys and advocates who brought the historic cases and fought to secure the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. The June 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges was 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 had neither an obvious nor an uncontested strategy. To many activists, achieving marriage equality seemed far-fetched, but the skeptics were proved wrong in the end. 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. "An exceptional piece of work by courageous and innovative leaders." —Eric H.Holder Jr., 82nd US attorney general "Captures the amazing story of the fight for marriage equality—in California and around the country. A remarkable journey recounted with truth and eloquence." —Gavin Newsom, governor of California

INDEX

Abrams, Lauren, 122

ACLU

Baker v. Nelson, 23

Coles, Matt, 100–107

Defense of Marriage Act challenge, 187, 213–21

Hawai‘i marriage case amicus brief, 46

Maryland marriage campaign, 203

National LGBT Rights Project, 272

religious freedom restoration acts, 326

sodomy laws, 54

United States v. Windsor, 210–217

Obergefell v. Hodges, 272

Ad Hoc Sodomy Law Task Force, 53–54

Adams, Michael, 107

Adams, Richard, 6

Adams v. Howerton, 7, 101

ADF see Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF)

adoption and parenting

Connecticut, 92, 93

DeBoer v. Snyder, 272–273

Maine, 188

Massachusetts, 79, 87

ongoing civil rights issues, 292, 299

Vermont, 74

Advancing Justice-Los Angeles, 160

African Americans

civil rights movement comparisons, 125, 126

Florida antigay marriage amendment, 251

Maryland marriage campaign, 200–206

black lesbians and marriage, 303–304

criminalization of LGBTQ people of color, 318–322

racism and structural inequality, 300

aging LGBT people, 8

AIDS epidemic, 4–6; 314–317

see also HIV/AIDS

Akbar, Jihad, 322

Alabama, 330–331

Alaska marriage case, 101

Alenier, Vanessa and Melanie, 254

Alito, Samuel, 324

Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), 136, 332

Amaral, Gabriella do, 189

Amendment 3 (Utah), 227–228

American Foundation for Equal Rights, 13, 115, 176–177

Amestoy, Jeffrey, 3, 75

amicus briefs

children’s interests, 141

Freedom to Marry, 117

Hawai‘i marriage case, 46

Indiana marriage case, 240–241

Iowa marri...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Love Unites Us
• I. Opening Arguments, 1970–98
• II. Sex Before Marriage: Striking Down Sodomy Laws
• III. Victories, Defeats, and a Plan to Win Marriage, 1996–2009
• IV. The Long, Winding Road to Marriage in California, 2004–13
• V. Hopes Rise and DOMA Falls, 2007–15
• VI. Closing Arguments, 2015
• VII. Looking to the Future
• Notes
• Index