Same-sex marriage : granting equal rights or damaging the status of marriage? / by Tricia Andryszewski.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Andryszewski, Tricia, 1956- author.

Series:

USA Today's debate: voices and perspectives

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Same-sex marriage--United States.

Same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage--Law and legislation--United States.

Gay rights--United States.

Gay rights.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (127 pages) : illustrations.

Place of Publication:

Minneapolis, Minnesota : Twenty-First Century Books, [2012]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Same-sex marriage is a sharply divisive issue in the United States. Yet in the twenty-first century, cities and states across the nation are beginning to make available a range of legal options for same-sex couples who want to make a commitment to each other. These options include domestic partnership, civil union, and marriage. Advocates in favor of legal marriage point to the many benefits that come with the institution of marriage: tax advantages, adoption and inheritance rights, health-care protections, and general social recognition. Opponents, on the other hand, believe that marriage is an institution reserved for one man and one woman. Making sense of the debate involves asking tough questions: Do all Americans, regardless of sexual orientation, have a right to legal marriage? What are the benefits and disadvantages of allowing same-sex couples to marry? Does same-sex marriage threaten or strengthen families? Should U.S. courts or the American voting public make the final determination about same-sex marriage? To answer these questions, this book examines the history of the gay rights movement in the United States and the struggle for equal protection under the law, including the right for same-sex couples to marry. It provides the opinions and perspectives of leaders, activists, politicians, and ordinary Americans on both sides of the issue. Supplemented with quotes, anecdotes, and discussions from the pages of USA TODAY, The Nation's No. 1 Newspaper, this book will broaden your understanding of all sides of the issue and help you form your own opinion, either for or against same-sex marriage.

Contents:

The background: gay rights in the United States

Gay marriage as a religious issue

What kind of country?

Domestic partnership

Gay family life

Politics and legal developments in the 1990s

Massachusetts and beyond.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-283-22983-8

9786613229830

0-7613-8076-0