Marriage and Same-Sex Unions: A Debate

This is the single best book I've read on the subject to date. Each chapter consists of two essays (one in favor of same-sex marriage and one against). Each essay is followed by a brief rebuttal (usually by the author of the opposing essay). The book is divided into three parts. The first part is Comparative Historical and Family Policy Perspectives and has essays by Evan Woflsen, Maggie Gallagher, Mark Strasser and other well-known advocates on both sides of the issue. Part II is Issues of Jurisprudence and Political Philosophy and has essays by legal scholars on the legal theories behind enabling or prohibiting same-sex marriages. The third and final part is on Constitutional Law and has arguments by some of the leading constitutional scholars on this issue. The book manages to be approachable by the lay reader, but is a serious work and takes a bit of concentrated effort to work through all the arguments. It is a terrific attempt at making the case on all the various sides and aspects of the issue. Well worth the time.

This is the book to get you up to speed on all the arguments concerning same-sex marriage, particularly if you are flummoxed by the `rights' argument. It is a series of 11 chapters of paired commentaries [pro- and con- same-sex marriage]. Maggie Gallagher opens her chapter and the book with the question, 'what is marriage for?'. Teresa Stanton Collett contributes a well-organized chapter explaining the state's interest in recognizing marriage. Both see marriage as an institution uniquely well suited to the task of producing and raising children. The final 5 chapters are devoted to legal issues. My favorite is William C. Duncan's account of the astonishing reasoning of the Vermont and some other state courts to arrive at the conclusion that mandates the equivalent of same-sex marriage. Read how a "Common Benefits" clause in Vermont's constitution leads to judicial lawmaking, and how an explicit "Separation of Powers" clause is ignored. Well-known same-sex marriage proponents Mark Strasser, William Eskridge, Jr., Carlos Ball, and Andrew Koppelman are also represented. Some readers may find their arguments inspiring. What's missing is a fully developed evolutionary biology argument for the superiority of child raising by natural parents, along the lines sketched out by Michael E. Levin in `Sexual Orientation and Human Rights'. Otherwise these articulate authors give the reader a good feel for all the issues involved in the same-sex marriage debate.