Nội dung

Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage Valuing All Families under the Law Nancy D. Polikoff Beacon Press Boston Beacon Press 25 Beacon Street Boston, Massachusetts 02108-2892 www.beacon.org Beacon Press books are published under the auspices of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. © 2008 by Nancy D. Polikoƒ All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America 11 10 09 08 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 This book is printed on acid-free paper that meets the uncoated paper ANSI/NISO specifications for permanence as revised in 1992. Text design and composition by Tag Savage at Wilsted & Taylor Publishing Services Polikoff, Nancy D. Beyond (straight and gay) marriage : valuing all families under the law / Nancy D. Polikoff. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-8070-4432-2 1. Unmarried couples—Legal status, laws, etc.—United States. 2. Domestic partner benefits—Law and legislation—United States. 3. Same-sex marriage—Law and legislation—United States. 4. Civil unions—Law and legislation—United States. 5. Gay couples— Legal status, laws, etc.—United States. 6. Lesbian couples—Legal status, laws, etc.—United States. I. Title. kf538.p65 2007 346.7301'6—dc22 2007021330 To my teachers, especially Horace Ports (in memoriam) Judith Fetterley Judith Areen Contents A Note from the Series Editor Introduction ix 1 ONE The Changing Meaning of Marriage 11 TWO Gay Rights and the Conservative Backlash THREE Redefining Family FOUR The Right and the Marriage Movement FIVE LGBT Families and the Marriage-Equality Movement 46 Countries Where Marriage Matters Less SEVEN Valuing All Families EIGHT Domestic Partner Benefits for All Families NINE Coping with Illness: Medical Care and Family and Medical Leave 159 TEN When a Relationship Ends through Dissolution or Death: Distributing Assets and Providing for Children 174 ELEVEN Losing an Economic Provider: Wrongful Death, Workers’ Compensation, and Social Security Notes 217 Index 243 110 123 208 Acknowledgments 63 83 SIX Conclusion 34 215 193 146 A Note from the Series Editor The history of the LGBT movement has been a serpentine series of crusades to identify and combat the myriad legal discriminations, oppressions, and social proscriptions that faced its constituents. Choosing what battles to fight—for any group—is always a complicated historical and cultural process, and the choices made depend on a wide range of factors. In recent years the battle for marriage equality has become, for many activists, the central struggle of the fight for lesbian and gay rights. This is understandable since marriage equality deals with relationships, legal rights, medical and economic benefits, and sustaining family units. But in the midst of any conflict it is often di‰cult to see the broader picture—and other options. Nancy Polikoƒ ’s Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage: Valuing All Families under the Law is one of the first books to examine, in detail and with a plethora of real-life as well as legal examples, what all families need to survive in a world that is becoming, socially and economically, increasingly harsh and complicated. Polikoƒ ’s brilliant and incisive legal analysis cuts through the arguments for and against same-sex marriage recognition to show us that both sides are arguing from a place that misses the larger picture of what all families— of whatever configuration—need to continue to support themselves and flourish. Drawing on cutting-edge family law, feminist theory, and plain old common sense, Polikoƒ brings us a vision of how we, as a society, can legally and ethically value everyone’s desire for family, stability, and security. In many ways Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage oƒers us a vision of the LGBT movement as it grows up to become as mature, inclusive, and progressive as its potential has always indicated it could be.   Series Editor