Chris Hubblereviews
Why
You Should Give A Damn About Gay Marriage
by
Davina Katulski
by
Davina Katulski
Chris Hubble is also
a writer and appropriately enough for this review has a book on gay
marriage as well, from Biblical times. Lord Given Lovers iUniverse, Oct 2003 Trade Paper 96 pages $12.95 ISBN 0-595-29869-9 |
Why You
Should Give a Damn About Gay Marriage A witty, down-to-earth, and valuable new resource Reviewed by Christopher Hubble, April 24, 2004 The intricate system of laws that protects heterosexual privilege while denying lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) persons the responsibilities, privileges, and benefits of civil marriage is another form of segregation, but it is made all the more insidious by its apparent invisibility. In her new book, Dr. Davina Kotulski, Ph.D., attempts to persuade us why civil marriage equality is an issue we should all “give a damn about.” This task would challenge any writer, given the immense scope of the subject and the skepticism with which this issue is still met by many well-meaning LGBT activists – it is one thing to say “1,349 rights, benefits, and protections” but another entirely more daunting task to list and describe them while also developing a cohesive argument in less than 200 pages. Fortunately, Dr. Kotulski begins with the most important point of all. Second-class citizenship demeans our integrity; it assaults the liberty guaranteed us by the U.S. Constitution – and the U.S. Supreme Court, it would seem, now agrees with us (just read the fine print of the Lawrence v. Texas ruling). In Dr. Kotulski’s words, “The language of love has power, and we have been given a very slim piece of the pie and asked to stay in our corner of the room and eat it quietly we live a half-existence compared to our heterosexual friends.” Dr. Kotulski is at her best when arguing that “Marriage Lite” (domestic partnerships, civil unions, reciprocal beneficiaries, etc.) is LGBT “Fool’s Gold”. These legal arrangements are only valid in their native states and most of the responsibilities, privileges, and benefits to which we have been denied access are enshrined in FEDERAL marriage, tax, social security, and inheritance laws anyway (for this reason, incidentally, the argument presented by many of our so-called political allies that this is a “states’ rights” issue is a deceptive way of avoiding taking a position at all). And didn’t the U.S. Supreme Court already determine in 1954 that “separate was not equal”? Dr. Kotulski offers her most compelling evidence when describing the process same-sex couples must endure to register a domestic partnership in California. The process, much more difficult to traverse than obtaining a simple marriage license, is itself demeaning because it reminds the same-sex couple of their second-class status. The reader should be careful to avoid missing the forest while wandering amongst the 1,349 trees. This book is best read in small portions; the subject matter is monotonous and tedious. But Dr. Kotulski has made a cohesive argument, and has given us all many compelling reasons to “give a damn” about civil marriage equality. Author of Lord Given Lovers: The Holy Union of David & Jonathan, Christopher Hubble can be reached at P.O. Box 18494, Denver, CO, 80218-0494 or LGLProject@msn.com. More information about Lord Given Lovers can be found at www.HubbleBooks.com. Copyright © 2004. All Rights Reserved. |