Legal Resources We Recommend

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

The American Civil Liberties Union is the nation's guardian of liberty, working daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

Analysis of the battle for marriage rights in the May/June 2011 issue of the Boston Review.

Constitutional expert Pamela Karlan looks at Supreme Court decisions as the reflection — not the cause — of progressive social change in America, from school desegregation to interracial marriage, and asks: "How does this history—this interplay between courts and democratic politics—bear on the question of marriage equality?"

Beware the Undissolved Civil Union: Massachusetts’ Highest Court Says That A Subsequent Marriage is Polygamy
This 21 August 2012 article by Joanna L. Grossman in the Family Law section of Justia.com addresses the case Elia-Warnken v. Elia.

Comprehensive consumer guide to real estate "LGBT mortgages"

This guide helps to explain the different approaches that same-sex couples can take in getting a mortgage, establishing ownership of a home and other legal issues.

Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD)

New England's leading legal rights organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status and gender identity and expression.

Gay Marriage: Legal and Constitutional Issues
Resources available in or through the Ithaca College Library that should help you explore and research the topic of gay marriage, especially as it is related to legal and constitutional issues.

Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund

The nation's oldest and largest legal organization dedicated to the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, and people with HIV/AIDS.

National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR)

The National Center for Lesbian Rights is a national legal resource center committed to advancing the rights and safety of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy, and public education.

Perry v. Schwarzenegger and the Future of Same-Sex Marriage Law
By Clifford J. Rosky, Associate Professor of Law, University of Utah College of Law; published in 53 Ariz. L. Rev. 913 (2011); awarded the Dukeminier Award and the Michael Cunningham Prize. In August 2010, Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of Northern District of California held that Proposition 8, which amended the California Constitution to revoke same-sex couples’ freedom to marry, violates the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. Building on important but neglected aspects of this historic decision, Professor Rosky’s article, originally published in the Arizona Law Review, develops three new constitutional arguments for same-sex marriage. First, it shows how a historical account of the demise of sex discrimination in marriage law supports the claim that same-sex couples have a fundamental ‘right to marry’ under the Due Process Clause. Second, it argues that fears about exposing children to homosexuality cannot justify same-sex marriage bans because the state has no interest in inculcating heterosexuality. Third, it proposes that the Fourteenth Amendment’s prohibition of morality as a legitimate rationale for same-sex marriage bans mirrors the First Amendment’s requirement that laws have a “secular purpose.” These insightful readings of Perry v. Schwarzenegger show that, whatever becomes of Proposition 8, gay rights advocates would do well in future same-sex marriage litigation to revisit the doctrinal ground mapped in Chief Judge Walker’s opinion.

Same-Sex Marriage: A Selective Bibliography of the Legal Literature
From the Law Library at Rutgers University; compiled by Paul Axel-Lute; originally published in September 2002 and last updated 5 June 2012.

Same-Sex Planning Tool

The Same-Sex Planning Tool provided by nerdwallet helps couples navigate the maze of state and federal laws that govern marriage for LGBT couples. The tool outlines the 7 essential legal documents for couples wanting to protect themselves, as well as key financial and tax considerations facing same-sex couples.

The Williams Institute

The Williams Institute advances sexual orientation law and public policy through rigorous, independent research and scholarship, and disseminates it to judges, legislators, policymakers, media and the public. A national think tank at UCLA Law, the Williams Institute produces high quality research with real-world relevance. Experts at the Williams Institute have authored dozens of public policy studies and law review articles, filed amicus briefs in key court cases, provided expert testimony at legislative hearings, been widely cited in the national media, and trained thousands of lawyers, judges and members of the public. By providing new ideas and reliable information, the Williams Institute makes a difference.

Winning Through Losing
By Douglas NeJaime, Associate Professor of Law, Loyola Law School; published in 96 Iowa L. Rev. 941 (2011); won the Dukeminier Award and also awarded the Stu Walter Prize. Professor NeJaime’s article, originally published in the Iowa Law Review, departs from scholars’ traditional focus on the effects of litigation victory and instead explores the surprisingly productive function of litigation loss. Analyzing how LGBT rights lawyers integrate loss into their multidimensional approach to advocacy, Professor NeJaime shows that, by exposing the limits and constraints of court-centered change, litigation loss may be leveraged to mobilize constituents and galvanize decision-makers in other institutional arenas. The article’s account of these counterintuitive results contributes mightily to our understanding of litigation’s constitutive effects on social movements and deepens our appreciation of courts’ place among the institutional venues in which movement lawyers operate. Professor NeJaime’s analysis of litigation loss does not suggest a turn away from courts but instead calls for a savvy, nuanced approach to litigation’s complicated and contingent role in broader processes of social change.