The Case for Same-Sex Marriage: From Sexual Liberty to Civilized Commitment

It is difficult to see that this study, by a professor at Georgetown Law Center, will change many minds. Although Eskridge's prose is not turgid, it definitely is legalistic, so his appeal will be more to judges and lawyers than to the general public. His argument for same-sex marriages is that the focus of wedlock is on interpersonal commitment and that, in denying same-sex couples the right to contract permanent unions, the law is denying gays the same rights that straights enjoy. And he demonstrates that, in case after case, homophobia is at the root of that denial, even though various other rationalizations are advanced, including historical precedent, the probability that no children will be produced and, in one amusing instance (in Hawaii), that tourism will be discouraged. Some may find it surprising that one segment of the homosexual community strongly opposes marriage of any sort. (May)