New Book: Same Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty

ILaw Profs. Robin Fretwell Wilson, of Washington and Lee University, and Douglas Laycock, of the University of Michigan have published Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty:  Emerging Conflicts (Rowman & Littlefield 2008).   According to their announcement of the book: This is not another book about the pros and cons of same-sex marriage.  Rather, this volume assumes that same-sex marriage is and will be the law for a significant part of the population, and asks the next question:  What happens to religious dissenters?  When government recognizes same-sex marriage, will every private citizen also have to recognize these marriages?  That question is already arising in many contexts, from wedding photographers to reproductive medical services to fringe benefits and even to freedom of speech.  The question is whether we can have sexual liberty for same-sex couples and religious liberty for conscientious objectors, or whether the recognition of one of these liberties will inevitably preclude the other, so that we are forced to choose between them.

The contributors include both opponents and supporters of same-sex marriage, and experts on religious liberty, family law, and gay rights.  They survey existing litigation and explore a range of possible solutions to the emerging conflict between same-sex marriage and religious liberty.  All the contributors are lawyers writing for a legal audience.