Books and a video about:

Same-sex marriage

Five particularly good books on the topic:

	George Chauncey, "Why Marriage? The history shaping today's debate over gay equality," Basic Books, (2004). Read reviews/order this book safely from Amazon.com's online bookstore It discusses the history of same-sex marriage and links it to the struggle for inter-racial marriage, desegregation, etc.
	Linda Hollingdale, "Creating Civil Union: Opening hearts and minds," Common Humanity Press, (2002). Read reviews/order this book This consists of 47 black and white photographs of individuals who were active in the fight for civil unions in Vermont. Each is accompanied by an essay describing the person's personal journey. See also her web site at: http://www.creatingcivilunion.com/
	Jonathan Rauch, "Gay Marriage : Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America," Owl Books, (2004). Read reviews/order this book This book outlines positive impacts of same-sex marriage on the culture.
	A. Sullivan & J. Landau, "Same-sex marriage: Pro and Con," Vintage Books, (1997) Read reviews/order this book This is one of the most popular books ordered from Amazon.com by visitors to this web site.
	David Myers & Letha Scanzoni, "What God has joined together? A Christian case for gay marriage, HarperSanFrancisco (2005-MAY). Read reviews/order this book The book "...concurs with conservatives' call for marriage renewal and a more marriage-supporting culture. And it concurs with liberals' affirmation of everyone's right, regardless of sexual orientation, to seal love with commitment and to participate fully in the church's life and ministry."

Other books on same-sex marriage:

	Tess Ayers & Paul Brown, "The essential guide to lesbian and gay weddings," Alyson Publications, (1999). Read a review or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store
	R.M. Baird & S.E. Rosenbaum, "Same-Sex Marriage: the moral and legal debate," Prometheus Books (1997). Order this book safely
	John Boswell, "Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe", Villard, New York, NY, (1994) Read reviews/order this book
	Becky Butler, Ed, "Ceremonies of the heart; Celebrating lesbian unions," Seal Pr. Feminist Pub. (1997). Read a review/order this book
	R.P. Cabaj, Ed., "On the road to same-sex marriage: A supportive guide to psychological, political and legal issues," Jossey-Bass publishers, (1997). Read a review/order this book
	George Chauncey, "Why Marriage? The history shaping today's debate over gay equality," Basic Books, (2004). Read reviews/order this book
	W.M. Eskridge, Jr., "The case for same-sex marriage: From sexual liberty to civilized commitment," Free Press. Read reviews/order this book
	Lambda Legal Defense Fund, "Civil Marriage for Lesbians and Gay Men: Organizing Communities of Faith". This is a book on positive religious opinions and sermons on same-sex marriages: Email lldefmarry@aol.com or phone (212) 995-8585
	Ellen Lewin, "Recognizing ourselves: Ceremonies of Lesbian and Gay Commitment," Columbia University Press, (1998) Order this book
	Eric Marcus, "Together forever: Gay and lesbian marriage," Doubleday, (1998). Read a review/order this book
	P. Martinac & R. Achtenberg, "The lesbian and gay book of love and marriage: Creating the stories of our lives," Broadway books (1998). Read reviews/order this book
	Tamara Roleff, Ed., "Gay Marriage," Greenhaven Press, (1998). Read reviews/order this book
	Suzanne Sherman, "Lesbian and Gay Marriage: Private Commitments, Public Ceremonies", Temple University Press, (1992) Read reviews/order this book
	Mark Strasser, "Legally wed: same-sex marriage and the Constitution," Cornell University Press, (1998) Read reviews/order this book
	Michael Willhoite, "Daddy's Wedding", Alyson Publ. (1996). This is a book for young people, ages 4 to 8. Read reviews/order this book
	Evan Wolfson, "Why Marriage Matters : America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry," Simon & Schuster, (2004). Read reviews/order this book
	Merle Yost, Ed., "When love lasts forever: Male couples celebrate commitment," Pilgrim Press. Read reviews/order this book

An amazing video:

"Tying the Knot" is a documentary directed by Jim de S�ve and released in 2004.

MovieFone viewers gave the movie five stars, its maximum rating.

The Daily News gave it 4� out of five stars.

The Christian Science Monitor gave it four stars.

It describes:

	The experiences of Mickie and Louis, a lesbian couple who had been together for thirteen years. Louis was a Florida police officer who died trying to stop a bank robbery. Mickie was denied all pension benefits.
	The story of Sam and Earl. They were together for 22 years in Oklahoma. When Earl died, this long-estranged cousins tried to have his will declared invalid so that they could gain ownership of Earl's house and turn Sam out onto the street.
	The history of marriage
	The battles for full marital equality for same-sex couples.

Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is a partner in the making of the movie. They believe that: "This film is a great way to introduce your friends, co-workers and neighbors to the marriage equality issue - it explores aspects of the issue like family dynamics, legal ramifications and the history of marriage in sometimes humorous, sometimes heart-breaking ways. Most importantly, this is a film that reveals the human side of discrimination in a way that EVERYONE can understand."

It is available for U.S. $22.93, postage paid. They accept PayPal. See: http://www.1049films.com/