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GUEST: Nancy Polikoff, author of “Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage: Valuing all Families Under the Law”

Earlier this week, the California Supreme Court heard arguments over the constitutionality of a state ban on same-sex marriage. A three and a half hour hearing took place in San Francisco this Tuesday as both sides of the debate made their case. Prompted by lawsuits brought on by nearly two dozen same-sex couples and the city of San Francisco, the seven judges on the court seemed divided on the issue. Lawyers opposed to same-sex marriages made the argument that gays are not denied the right to marriage, so long as it’s not with someone of the same gender. On the opposite side, lawyers spoke on behalf of same-sex couples stating that anything less than their right to marry one another constitutes unfair discrimination. Suits filed in the case stem from a California Court of Appeals 2-1 decision to overturn a Superior Court judge’s ruling that the same-sex marriage ban passed by voters in 2000 was unconstitutional. The current law defines marriage as a contract between a woman and a man. The California Supreme Court has 90 days since Tuesday’s hearings to issue a decision on the matter.

I spoke recently with Nancy Polikoff, author of “Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage: Valuing all Families Under the Law,” and Professor of law at American University Washington College of Law. In her book, Polikoff closely examines the marriage-equality movement and critiques its focus on marriage as a “solution” to injustices facing LGBT people because it assumes marriage to be the ideal family structure. She encourages the gay community to view the fight for family diversity more broadly, with an approach that considers the needs of all LGBT people, whether married or not.