Badgett publishes new book, 'When Gay People Get Married'
M.V. Lee Badgett, professor of Economics and director of the Center for Public Policy and Administration, has just published a new book, “When Gay People Get Married: What Happens when Societies Legalize Same-Sex Marriage.”
To find out the impact of same-sex marriage, Badgett traveled to the Netherlands where it has been legal for same-sex couples to marry since 2001. She interviewed gay couples there to find out how marriage affected their lives. In addition to learning about changes to their relationships, the reactions of their families and work colleagues, Badgett also examined ways that the institution of marriage itself has been altered within the larger society.
Badgett argues that the evidence shows both that marriage changes gay people more than gay people change marriage, and that it is the most liberal countries and states making the first move to recognize gay couples. In the end, Badgett says allowing gay couples to marry does not destroy the institution of marriage and that many gay couples do benefit, in expected as well as surprising ways, from the legal, social and political rights that the institution offers.
Badgett holds a joint appointment at the UCLA School of Law as research director of the Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy. She is the author of “Money, Myths, and Change” and co-editor of Sexual Orientation Discrimination. Her work has appeared in magazines and newspapers across the U.S., including the New York Times, Slate and The Nation.
August 19, 2009.
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