Gay marriage and democracy : equality for all /

In this fairly brief book, Snyder (George Mason Univ.) places the contemporary debate over same-sex marriage in the US in the context of American democratic theory. In contrast to those who argue that democratic bodies should decide the extension to gay men and lesbians of the right to marry, she clearly argues that the right to civil marriage is a fundamental right essential to the existence of true democracy. As Snyder puts it, "the fundamental principles of liberal democracy--legal equality, individual liberty, civil rights, personal autonomy, human dignity, and the state of fairness--require the legalization of same-sex marriage ... whether or not a majority approves." In presenting her own argument concisely, the author neatly synthesizes a wide swath of legal and theoretical literature in building her case and in answering critics in the communitarian, religious conservative, and queer liberation schools of thought. Adherents of those beliefs will certainly not be convinced by Snyder's argument. However, this well-written text enhances both introductory and more advanced conversations about an issue that seems certain to remain front and center in American political debates through the first decades of the century. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. General readers, upper-division undergraduates through faculty. J. Barth Hendrix College

Snyder has written a terse handbook of rebuttals to most every anti-gay marriage argument out there-and states that a legitimate democracy must legalize gay marriage. An assistant professor of government and politics at George Mason University, Snyder backs up this claim with 27 clearly argued pages of political theory that are the best part of this book. The argument hinges on the concept of just law as defined by Martin Luther King Jr. and upheld by the Supreme Court: "a code that a majority compels a minority to follow [and] that it is willing to follow itself." Because heterosexuals would not be willing to have their own marriages prohibited, they cannot legitimately prohibit it for homosexuals. Snyder neatly disentangles the legitimate claims of religion (to live according to one's moral framework) from those that are antidemocratic (to impose one's moral framework on others). She also takes on biblical arguments, rehashing some well-known controversies but adding useful Jewish perspectives. By foregrounding the political traditions on which American democracy rests, Snyder gives those on the left a considerable weapon against assertions that religious traditions should guide the nation's future. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved