America's struggle for same-sex marriage /

Pinello (John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY) succinctly depicts how the battle for same-sex marriage has evolved from a legal one into a social movement. The text utilizes major court cases in Massachusetts, Oregon, California, New Mexico, and New York; 85 in-depth interviews, including 50 of married same-sex couples; and the social context in which these challenges occurred. Goodridge, a landmark case in which the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that marriage exclusively for opposite sex partners violated equal protection rights, spurred the effort. Pinello clearly shows how the fight for equal marriage follows that of previous civil rights struggles--the quest for respect, unrecognized "heterosexual privilege," the interaction of mass action with legal interventions, political backlash--and discusses nuances and conservative viewpoints such as fear of social change, legal precedence, the desire for consensus building, bigotry, and blind acceptance of tradition. The book argues that civil unions are insufficient; they provide second-class status and deny federal benefits and protections. The cases are somewhat hard to follow; each state should have had the same format. Nevertheless, this readable book artfully weaves personal narratives with complex legal material. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Collections on discrimination and gay/lesbian and gender studies, all levels. S. D. Borchert emerita, Lake Erie College