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Yale Law Library Series in Legal History and Reference
Marriage Equality: From Outlaws to In-Laws
Winner of the 2021 ABA Silver Gavel Award: The definitive history of the marriage equality debate in the United States, praised by Library Journal as "beautifully and accessibly written. . . . An essential work.”
"[A] magnum opus about the political and legal path to Obergefell."—Eric Cervini, New York Times Book Review
"[An] impressive survey of how far the gay rights movement has come."— Publishers Weekly
As a legal scholar who first argued in the early 1990s for a right to gay marriage, William N. Eskridge Jr. has been on the front lines of the debate over same‑sex marriage for decades. In this book, Eskridge and his coauthor, Christopher R. Riano, offer a panoramic and definitive history of America’s marriage equality debate. The authors explore the deeply religious, rabidly political, frequently administrative, and pervasively constitutional features of the debate and consider all angles of its dramatic history. While giving a full account of the legal and political issues, the authors never lose sight of the personal stories of the people involved, or of the central place the right to marry holds in a person’s ability to enjoy the dignity of full citizenship. This is not a triumphalist or one‑sided book but a thoughtful history of how the nation wrestled with an important question of moral and legal equality.
"[A] magnum opus about the political and legal path to Obergefell."—Eric Cervini, New York Times Book Review
"[An] impressive survey of how far the gay rights movement has come."— Publishers Weekly
As a legal scholar who first argued in the early 1990s for a right to gay marriage, William N. Eskridge Jr. has been on the front lines of the debate over same‑sex marriage for decades. In this book, Eskridge and his coauthor, Christopher R. Riano, offer a panoramic and definitive history of America’s marriage equality debate. The authors explore the deeply religious, rabidly political, frequently administrative, and pervasively constitutional features of the debate and consider all angles of its dramatic history. While giving a full account of the legal and political issues, the authors never lose sight of the personal stories of the people involved, or of the central place the right to marry holds in a person’s ability to enjoy the dignity of full citizenship. This is not a triumphalist or one‑sided book but a thoughtful history of how the nation wrestled with an important question of moral and legal equality.
- GenresNonfiction
1040 pages, Hardcover
First published August 18, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 10, 2023
Took forever to read this super long and detailed book and I'm so glad I did because it was great. A well-written and comprehensive account of how in ~60 years America went from Stonewall-era homophobia to nationwide marriage equality
June 30, 2020
When one thinks of the battle for marriage equality, many know the story of Richard Baker and librarian James McConnell in Minnesota as they fought for recognition of their marriage license in 1970, one year after Stonewall, because of their published story. However, the battle for marriage equality was being fought in New Mexico and Colorado around the same time. This is just one of the items one learns in this most comprehensive look at the battle for marriage equality in the United States.
Eskridge and Riano's work documents battles across the United States. This documentation is all inclusive. In begins with the various ways religion tired to come to terms with moral teachings and the changing attitudes toward homosexuality, gender roles, and marriage in the 1970's. It shows how religious institutions were energized to stop the advance of these notions of homosexuality and the effect of the sexual revolution to prevent the opening the Pandora's box to marriage equality. It provides the history and individuals involved in the forming family policy councils like American Family Association or the Family Research Council and many more as they foster acceptance of the Defense of Marriage Act, as well as the institutions on the other side of the issue. One gets fascinating inight into the leaders and key players of both the supporters of marriage equality, civil unions, domestic partnerships as well as the detractors of these proposals.
With references to a battle being fought, the authors evaluate the work of the various campaigns and outline the thoughts and strategies behind these. One takes away how important dollars are to any successful campaign.
Name a issue relating to marriage equality and the authors delve into it. Issues like the divide between the acceptance of civil unions and marriage, Proposition 8, DOMA, Obama's evolution on LGBT marriage, Weiner's and many other cases that were fought in front state, federal and Supreme Court are presented in a serious presentation. The many court cases are not just listed. One gets a sense of being in the court room. The individuals involved are presented often with short bios. Each of the arguments are presented. On occasion, even after the court has handed down a decision, the authors have gone back to the individuals involved.
The authors don't stop with the Supreme court's decision on marriage. It continues the discussion in this aftermath. Issues relating to vendor religious objections, the fairness for all legislation, and family/partners and what laws governing adult relationships are presented. There is even a brief chapter regarding Franklin Kameny, a prominent, early gay activist.
I can't imagine a more perceptive work.
Thank you to Above the Tree/Edelweiss and publisher for this electronic copy.
Eskridge and Riano's work documents battles across the United States. This documentation is all inclusive. In begins with the various ways religion tired to come to terms with moral teachings and the changing attitudes toward homosexuality, gender roles, and marriage in the 1970's. It shows how religious institutions were energized to stop the advance of these notions of homosexuality and the effect of the sexual revolution to prevent the opening the Pandora's box to marriage equality. It provides the history and individuals involved in the forming family policy councils like American Family Association or the Family Research Council and many more as they foster acceptance of the Defense of Marriage Act, as well as the institutions on the other side of the issue. One gets fascinating inight into the leaders and key players of both the supporters of marriage equality, civil unions, domestic partnerships as well as the detractors of these proposals.
With references to a battle being fought, the authors evaluate the work of the various campaigns and outline the thoughts and strategies behind these. One takes away how important dollars are to any successful campaign.
Name a issue relating to marriage equality and the authors delve into it. Issues like the divide between the acceptance of civil unions and marriage, Proposition 8, DOMA, Obama's evolution on LGBT marriage, Weiner's and many other cases that were fought in front state, federal and Supreme Court are presented in a serious presentation. The many court cases are not just listed. One gets a sense of being in the court room. The individuals involved are presented often with short bios. Each of the arguments are presented. On occasion, even after the court has handed down a decision, the authors have gone back to the individuals involved.
The authors don't stop with the Supreme court's decision on marriage. It continues the discussion in this aftermath. Issues relating to vendor religious objections, the fairness for all legislation, and family/partners and what laws governing adult relationships are presented. There is even a brief chapter regarding Franklin Kameny, a prominent, early gay activist.
I can't imagine a more perceptive work.
Thank you to Above the Tree/Edelweiss and publisher for this electronic copy.
October 31, 2020
In Marriage Equality, William N. Eskridge Jr. and Christopher R. Riano deliver a complete overview of the same-sex marriage debate. Somehow, they manage to deliver a detailed constitutional, legal, and political accounting without losing sight of the personal stories behind the scenes.
This is a remarkable accomplishment.
One of my colleagues connected me and Christopher R. Riano earlier this year. She knew him prior to his work for Governor Cuomo, and he motioned for her admittance as an attorney to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Interestingly enough, my friend is a Republican. I met her in 1997, when I served as her Democratic counterpart on the Michigan House of Representative’s Commerce Committee. We remain close.
The strong, party-related irony of the introduction isn’t lost on me. While the Democratic Party has evolved (along with most of society) to embrace gay people and support the equal protection of our rights, the Republican Party—emboldened by its Christian-activist base—has consistently done everything in its power to demonize gay folk, use us a wedge issue, and destroy our families while building a home for those who practice grievance-related politics.
This is painstakingly clear in Eskridge and Riano’s comprehensive, 1000-page volume (including notes and indexes. While the authors jump through hoops to portray some of these conservatives as sincere and well-meaning, the bigoted nature of their alliances eventually bleed through the gauze.
This is a remarkable accomplishment.
One of my colleagues connected me and Christopher R. Riano earlier this year. She knew him prior to his work for Governor Cuomo, and he motioned for her admittance as an attorney to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Interestingly enough, my friend is a Republican. I met her in 1997, when I served as her Democratic counterpart on the Michigan House of Representative’s Commerce Committee. We remain close.
The strong, party-related irony of the introduction isn’t lost on me. While the Democratic Party has evolved (along with most of society) to embrace gay people and support the equal protection of our rights, the Republican Party—emboldened by its Christian-activist base—has consistently done everything in its power to demonize gay folk, use us a wedge issue, and destroy our families while building a home for those who practice grievance-related politics.
This is painstakingly clear in Eskridge and Riano’s comprehensive, 1000-page volume (including notes and indexes. While the authors jump through hoops to portray some of these conservatives as sincere and well-meaning, the bigoted nature of their alliances eventually bleed through the gauze.
December 11, 2025
“who you are is profoundly influenced by the choices your society gives you, and even the language your society gives you.”
i was definitely more interested in the beginning, i flew through the first few hundred pages, then i kind of lost a bit of interest and felt things dragged. super detailed though and a great reference text.
content/trigger warnings; discussions or mentions of queerphobia, queerphobic legal discrimination, marriage and divorce, death, transphobia, deadnaming, domestic abuse, rape, religion, suicide, child sexual abuse, pedophilia, hiv/aids and related death, racism,
i was definitely more interested in the beginning, i flew through the first few hundred pages, then i kind of lost a bit of interest and felt things dragged. super detailed though and a great reference text.
content/trigger warnings; discussions or mentions of queerphobia, queerphobic legal discrimination, marriage and divorce, death, transphobia, deadnaming, domestic abuse, rape, religion, suicide, child sexual abuse, pedophilia, hiv/aids and related death, racism,
September 12, 2021
Very detailed account of the entire process of legalization of same sex marriage in the United States. It includes legal analysis as well as organizational analysis, social context, and personal narrative/oral histories of the march to the Obergefell ruling. Interesting for those interested. Contemplated using parts of it for a course on families and social change but decided against it as the text itself could be an entire semester's worth of advanced undergraduate reading.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews