From the Closet to the Altar: Courts, Backlash, and the Struggle for Same-Sex Marriage

At a time when the role of the Supreme Court is again in the headlines, following its ruling upholding Obamacare, Harvard Law School’s Klarman does a remarkable job using the debate over gay marriage as a lens for examining the factors that will go into the Court’s inevitable engagement with the issue. Klarman (From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality) effectively conveys the history of the issue, from the 1950s to 2012, and provides just enough detail to allow lay readers to emerge with an informed understanding of the twisted path same-sex marriage has taken. Unfamiliar readers are likely to be surprised by how recently the cause landed on the national gay rights agenda, and will be intrigued by the debates within the gay community about the wisdom of pursuing such a goal. (Some viewed all marriage as part of a “patriarchal system,” while others viewed it as an abandonment of “transforming the very fabric of society” by becoming mainstream.) Klarman repeatedly refers to the role of popular culture in shaping public opinion toward gays in general, and discusses how such shifts influence court rulings. Advocates will be encouraged by his well-buttressed conclusion: “Once public opinion has shifted overwhelmingly in favor… the Court will constitutionalize the emerging consensus.” (Oct.)