gay marriage

Discriminating in the name of religion? Segregationists and slaveholders did it, too.

by Tisa Wenger

The Supreme Court must reject these claims.

Roy Moore: Supreme Court Gay Marriage Ruling Was ‘Worse’ Than Upholding Slavery In Dred Scott

“We’ve got to go back and recognize that what they did in Obergefell was not only to take and create a right that does not exist under the Constitution but then to mandate that that right compels Christians to give up their religious freedom and liberty.”

California high school creates gay history class

“This is history. This is an experience that happened.”

Jonathan Zimmerman says homosexuality is not alien to Africa

by Jonathan Zimmerman

It’s homophobia that is.

Resistance to Gay Marriages Travels a Well-Worn Path

Legal experts suggest that history might hint at how the coming months will unfold, as a handful of defiant clerks across the South and Midwest refuse to abide by the Supreme Court's ruling last month that legalized gay marriage.

What Does Marriage Equality Have to Do with Dred Scott?

by Amy Davidson

In part, Dred Scott is simply being used to give Obergefell a bad name—as pure invective, another way to call the decision rotten and the Supreme Court deluded.

Video of the Week: The History Of Homosexuality On Film

With gay marriage now legal in America, let's take a look back at how homosexuality has been portrayed on film. It's 120 years of misrepresentation in 10 minutes!

Harvard’s Nancy Cott says the dissenters in the gay marriage case have a stilted idea of the history of marriage

by Nancy F. Cott

"History, like the Constitution, can be read in more than one way."

Why Liberals Shouldn’t Worry About a Backlash to the Same-Sex Marriage Ruling: An Interview with Harvard’s Michael Klarman

by Rick Shenkman

Professor Klarman, who’s written about the backlash triggered by the Brown decision, says the circumstances are different this time.

Stephanie Coontz’s work on the history of marriage cited by the Supreme Court.

When Reagan-appointed Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote his gay- marriage opinion, it turns out he was channeling an Evergreen State College professor.

How Does It Feel To Have One’s Work as a Historian Cited by the Supreme Court? Cool. Very Cool. Thank You Very Much.

by Hendrik Hartog

Hendrik Hartog reflects on the Supreme Court’s decision to cite the work of historians.

Han Chinese Marriage: A Lesson for Chief Justice John Roberts

by Andrew Meyer

Marriage has evolved (much more recently than most people imagine) to become a relationship between equals, thus there is no justification to exclude same-gender couples from the marital bond.

Where Stonewall fits into the story

The long path to the Supreme Court's decision began in the 1960s.  Stonewall marked a turning point. 

A New Right Grounded in the Long History of Marriage

by David M. Perry

Citing the work of historians that demonstrates the constant evolution of the institution, the U.S. Supreme Court decides to recognize a constitutional right to same-sex unions.

What the Gay Marriage Split Decision Says About the Current Supreme Court

by Peter Dreier

The Loving decision was unanimous.  This one was 5 to 4.  Earl Warren might be one big reason for the difference. 

Clarence Thomas invokes comparison to slavery in raging gay-marriage dissent

Thomas wrote that there is no "dignity" clause in the US Constitution — and that, even if there was, the government could not bestow it upon a person or take it away.

The Price of Gay Marriage

by Timothy Stewart-Winter

Will the victory at the Supreme Court blind us to our history of life in the margins?

In gay marriage decision, Supreme Court turns to historians for insight

Justice Anthony Kennedy's opinion leaned heavily on the historians' argument that, while marriage has traditionally been between one man and one woman, it has greatly evolved along with society and the law.

On Gay Marriage, Will the Supreme Court Favor Equal Rights or States' Rights?

by Peter Dreier

Should we allow each state to decide whether black Americans can marry white Americans? Today, that idea seems absurd.

When judges change their minds

by Emily Bazelon

Oliver Wendell Holmes first embraced throwing people in jail for holding views critical of the government.  Then, a few months later, changed his mind. When does this happen?