The State of the Same-Sex Union: Part One in a Three-Part Series
FindLaw columnist and Hofstra law professor Joanna Grossman and FindLaw guest columnist and Cardozo law professor Edward Stein explain the early history of attempts to establish a right to same-sex marriage, in the first of a three-part series of columns constituting a "state of the nation" report on the legal history of the fight for same-sex marriage rights. As Grossman and Stein explain, attempts to establish a right to same-sex marriage began in America as early as the 1970's, but were rebuffed. However, additional lawsuits in the late 1980's and early 1990's advanced the movement, with some rights of same-sex partners being recognized. Grossman and Stein detail the rights movement's early victories and defeats -- ending this Part in their series with a discussion of the important Supreme Court decisions relating to same-sex marriage by Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Vermont. Tuesday, July 7, 2009