Gay Men's Politics & Society

This book provides an introduction to lawyers and their clients to the legal landscape as it relates to lesbian, gay and transgender (LGT) persons today and provides the opportunity to look at issues from the perspectives of those persons. In addition to case law, statutes and a discussion of legal issues, this book also introduces the reader to people who make up the lesbian, gay and transgender community and their common issues. It will assist you in developing new ideas of what is possible in your jurisdiction, and identify the legal issues to be successfully challenged. Some of the topics covered include:

LGT relationships

Children

Adoption

Parenting rights

LGT students and schools

LGT elders

Estate planning

Immigration

The book is accompanied by a CD-ROM that includes checklists, forms, sample agreements and web site links to state-specific resources.

The author was featured on both Jon Stewart and Rachel Maddow in the past ten days.

Based on a decade of research, "Unfriendly Fire "traces how "don't ask, don't tell" emerged as a short-sighted political compromise under Bill Clinton. Frank presents indisputable evidence that gays already serve in the U.S. military without causing problems. With unfailing logic, he dissects the patterns of bigotry and fear that have fought to preserve a gay ban and shows that the time to do away with it has come--not just as a moral issue, but also as a practical matter of survival for the military itself. This expose is sure to boil the blood of any American who cares about democracy and national security.

The best known anti-gay hate crime in history, the murder of Matthew Shepherd, and its still reverberating after-effects, get wholly addressed in THE MEANING OF MATTHEW. Unflichingly, Judy Shepherd, his mother, looks at and presents to us the fact that before Matthew Shepherd was an icon, he was, like Pinocchio before him, a real boy.

Ms. Shepard shares her story about her son's death and the choice she made to become an international gay rights activist.

For the first time in book form, Judy Shepard speaks about her loss, sharing memories of Matthew, their life as a typical American family, and the pivotal event in the small college town that changed everything. THE MEANING OF MATTHEW follows the Shepard family in the days immediately after the crime, when Judy and her husband traveled to see their incapacitated son, kept alive by life support machines; how the Shepards learned of the incredible response from strangers all across America who held candlelit vigils and memorial services for their child; and finally, how they struggled to navigate the legal system as Matthew's murderers were on trial. Heart-wrenchingly honest, Judy Shepard confides with readers about how she handled the crippling loss of her child, why she became a gay rights activist, and the challenges and rewards of raising a gay child in America today.

THE MEANING OF MATTHEW not only captures the historical significance and complicated civil rights issues surrounding one young man's life and death, but it also chronicles one ordinary woman's struggle to cope with the unthinkable.