Queers in Court : Gay Rights Law and Public Policy

Examines the contemporary battle for gay and lesbian rights in the United States, tracing the evolution of issues from same sex marriage and private rights to military service and employment discrimination. This work provides the comprehensive analysis of queer rights in law and policy. In Queers in Court, Susan Gluck Mezey examines the contemporary battle for gay and lesbian rights in the United States, tracing the evolution of issues from same sex marriage and privacy rights to military service and employment discrimination. By combining analyses of nearly three hundred cases from both federal and state courts with detailed explorations of the paths these issues have taken through legislative and executive bodies, she provides the most comprehensive analysis of queer rights in law and policy to date. Both scholars seeking a case study in minority rights and those looking for a primer in gay and lesbian politics will find Mezey's book of interest Annotation In Queers in Court, Susan Gluck Mezey examines the contemporary battle for gay and lesbian rights in the United States, tracing the evolution of issues from same sex marriage and private rights to military service and employment discrimination. By combining analyses of nearly three hundred cases from both federal and state courts with detailed explorations of the paths these issues have taken through legislative and executive bodies, she provides the most comprehensive analysis of queer rights in law and policy to date Contents......Page 9 Acknowledgments......Page 11 Table of Cases......Page 13 Introduction......Page 23 1 Forging Gay Rights Activism......Page 37 2 Litigating Equality and Privacy Rights......Page 67 3 Struggling over Same-Sex Marriage......Page 109 4 Contesting Inequality in the Military......Page 157 5 Challenging Employment Discrimination......Page 211 6 Conclusion......Page 251 References......Page 261 General Index......Page 279 Index of Cases......Page 285 About the Author......Page 291 Forging Gay Rights Activism -- Litigating Equality And Privacy Rights -- Struggling Over Same Sex Marriage -- Contesting Inequality In The Military -- Challenging Employment Discrimination. Susan Gluck Mezey. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 239-255) And Indexes. This book examines the gay community's efforts to achieve social and legal reform in the United States from the 50s to the 2000s within the "rights-based" discourse characteristic of earlier civil rights struggles