Courting Justice: Gay Men and Lesbians v. the Supreme Court

Courting Justice: Gay Men and Lesbians v. the Supreme Court  by Joyce Murdoch and Deb Price
2002
Weight: 3 lbs
Method of Disposal: Giving to Tracy

I loved this book.  I learned so much, and I gained so much inspiration.  I felt lucky to have so many strong, intelligent, and brave people fighting the good fight before me.  My heart also broke to hear about the crushed dreams and destroyed lives of so many amazing gay and lesbian folks throughout history.  I would really like to get my hands on an updated edition.  I know Tracy will love it and so am passing it on to her. 

In the meantime, I am naming all the cats at work after all the incredible LGBTQI activists I now know about.  While silly, I kinda hope people see the names, Google them, and get inspired too!

I Do/I Don't

I Do I Don't: Queers on Marriage  Edited by Greg Wharton and Ian Philips
2004
Weight: 1.1 lbs
Method of Disposal: Leaving at Hodge Podge

I picked up this book after the two cases about same-sex marriage were heard by the Supreme Court this year.  I bought it when it first came out, and I was anti-same-sex marriage, but I did not read it because it talked SO MUCH about, ugh/bleck/groan, marriage.  This time, when I picked it up, I was not even feeling just pro-okay-gay-people-should-have-the-right-even-though-it-is-a-dumb-idea thoughts but even thoughts that, MAYBE, I would like to be married one day.

I read boring essays, great ones, semi-amusing ones, ambivalent ones, and even one highly offensive one comparing gays wanting to be married to "Jews praying for Zyklon B," among other truly fucked up, non-comparable things.  A couple hundred pages in I never wanted to hear the words "same-sex" "gay marriage" or "civil union" ever again.  I was glad I stuck it out though because I read a unique and unexpectedly insightful piece by Sarah Silverman that made me respect her a lot more than I had previously, and it helped me look at some things differently.

In the end, I still recognize that the history of "marriage" is fraught with problematic and oppressive issues, that it is frequently a union that people get into for all the wrong reasons, and that it should not be the number one issue of the gay rights movement.  I also think that, MAYBE, I might like the option of making the decision for myself one day.