From Library Journal
This comprehensive and thoroughly researched work considers the legal issues that gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people face daily. Encyclopedic in length, the 112 alphabetically arranged entries include "Absurd Sex Laws," "The Federal Employment Non-Discrimination Order," "Reparative Therapy," "Sexual Harassment in Schools," and "Wills." These entries are fully developed with the addition of supportive or derivative themes, including lists of specific references. Uniquely, this reference represents not only solid legal material but the sociological, psychological, and medical contexts. A 23-page introduction succinctly reviews the historical evolution of the gay rights movement, from Karl Heinrich Ulrich (the grandfather of gay liberation) to Stonewall to the advent of the "separate but equal" slogan. The almost 100-page appendix details state and local laws on a state-by-state and city-by-city basis and also provides a comprehensive list of appropriate resources and available services. Finally, a table of statutes and a helpful index complete this monumental work. Stewart, a specialist in intercultural education, is author of Sexually Stigmatized Communities. Appropriate both for novices investigating the legal implications of homosexuality and for researchers and attorneys, this is recommended for all libraries. John-Leonard Berg, Univ. of Wisconsin Lib., Platteville
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
More than 120 entries are included in this volume, from
Absurd sex laws to
Wills. Many are quite lengthy, such as
Students' rights,
Domestic partnership, and
Transsexual, which run five, six, and ten pages, respectively. An introduction offers a concise history of the gay rights movement that will prove useful for individuals just beginning their research. The well-developed index will be most helpful in ferreting out specific terms, especially for people new to this topic.
A closer look at the 10-page Family helps illustrate the structure of the entries. Under Family may be found a number of subheadings, including "Same-Sex Couples," "Marriage and Domestic Partnerships," "Child Adoption and Foster Care," and "Procreation and Parenting." As with most of the dictionary's entries, references are placed at the end, and in this instance, they occupy nearly a full page. Words in bold type signal to the reader that definitions are located elsewhere in the dictionary as separate entries. Case law references are visible throughout.
Appendix A, "State and Local Laws," offers general descriptions of such concepts as sex statutes and domestic partnership benefits and registries, in addition to specific state, county, and city legislation, codes, and ordinances. Appendix B, "Resources," lists advocacy groups, books and journals, and state Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Human Rights Commission offices. Court cases referred to in the body of the dictionary may be found in the "Table of Cases."
This is a book to which one might turn for help in placing specific ideas, myths, or points of view concerning homosexuality into American social and legal context: What does the essence of public accommodation have to do with the Boy Scouts or with marching in a St. Patrick's Day parade? What does, or doesn't, "opposite sex" mean for someone who is intersexed? Homosexuality and the Law would be very appropriate in public libraries of any size, as well as high-school and academic libraries. RBB
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