Same-Sex Marriage in the United States Focus on the Facts

by Cahill, Sean

• ISBN13: 9780739108826
• ISBN10: 0739108824
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-08-13
• Publisher: Lexington Books

Summary

The rhetoric and emotion surrounding the same-sex marriage debate tends to obscure the facts and figures. Tracing the development of same-sex marriage in the United States and its deployment as a political tool, Sean Cahill lays out the current situation in plain language and explains what's at stake.

Author Biography

Sean Cahill, Ph.D., is Director of the Policy Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
Acknowledgments	xi
Fast Facts	xii
1 A FIERCE DEBATE	1	(18)
Landmark Decisions	1	(4)
Legislative Efforts to Restrict Same-Sex Marriage	5	(7)
Historical Precedents to the Current Debate	12	(1)
Civil Marriage and Religious Marriage	13	(6)
2 "FAMILY VALUES": A POLITICAL AGENDA?	19	(24)
Defining the Anti-Gay Movement	19	(1)
Financial Resources	20	(2)
Local Campaigns	22	(2)
A Larger Agenda	24	(2)
Focus on Homosexuality	26	(1)
What Do Anti-Gay Groups Say about Same-Sex Marriage and Gay Families?	26	(17)
3 THE BENEFITS OF BEING FAMILY	43	(22)
Defining the Family	43	(2)
The 2000 Census's Same-Sex Couple Sample	45	(1)
Parenting among Same-Sex Couples and Single Gay Parents	45	(6)
Custody Rights	51	(1)
Adoption Rights	52	(4)
Elder Couples	56	(3)
Health Care	59	(2)
Unequal Tax Treatment of Same-Sex Couples	61	(4)
4 GAY RIGHTS ON THE POLITICAL STAGE	65	(36)
The First Wave of Anti-Gay Ballot Campaigns	65	(1)
1972-1980: The Emergence of Gay Issues in Presidential Politics	66	(2)
The Reagan Years	68	(1)
Late 1980's and Early 1990's: The Rise in Anti-Gay Activism	69	(4)
Pro-Gay Advances in the 1990's	73	(4)
Anti-Gay Politics in the 1992 Presidential Election	77	(3)
1996: Defending Marriage	80	(2)
The 2000 Election Campaign	82	(4)
The Bush-Cheney Administration in 2004	86	(4)
The White House Defends Its Position	90	(7)
The 2004 Democratic Presidential Candidates: The Most Pro-Gay Field Yet	97	(2)
Current Measures	99	(2)
5 THE CASE FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY	101	(10)
Two Stories	101	(3)
Surviving Same-Sex Partners and the Aftermath of 9/11	104	(3)
Focus on the Future	107	(4)
Afterword	111	(2)
Notes	113	(32)
Select Bibliography	145	(8)
Index	153