Beyond straight and gay marriage valuing all families under the law

"The debate over marriage equality for same-sex couples rages across the country. Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage moves the discussion forward by focusing on the larger, more fundamental issue of marriage and the law. The root problem, asserts law professor and LBGT rights activist Nancy Polikoff, is that marriage is a bright dividing line between those relationships that legally matter, and those that don't." "Polikoff reframes the debate by arguing that all family relationships and households need the economic stability and emotional peace of mind that now extend only to married couples. Couples should have the choice to marry based on the spiritual, cultural, or religious meaning of marriage in their lives, asserts Polikoff. While marriage equality for same-sex couples is a civil rights victory, she contends that no one should have to marry in order to reap specific and unique legal results. In this argument that married couples should not receive special rights denied to other families, Polikoff shows how the law can value all families, and why it must."--BOOK JACKET.