Rainbow Rights: The Role of Lawyers and Courts in the ... (ISBN 0813326184)

Amazon.com Review:
An excellent resource to consider alongside the recent political histories of the gay rights movement (such as John Malone's 21st Century Gay and John d'Emilio, William Turner, and Urvashi Vaid's Creating Change), this authoritative history and critique offers a detailed examination of the legal advances made in gay civil rights in America over the past 70 years, the strategies used in court, and the alliances and shifts in public policy and opinion that have strengthened these advances. Equal attention, however, is given to Bowers v. Hardwick, Padula, and other disappointments, the better to help prepare civil rights attorneys for future battles in court. In her introduction, Patricia A. Cain tracks the meanings of the rainbow as a gay symbol, referring to Judy Grahn's research and of course to the Judy Garland song, but also quoting Gilbert Baker, the San Francisco creator of the rainbow flag, who admired the diversity of the gay community. "I mean to capture all these meanings in my title Rainbow Rights," explains Cain: I am looking for legal arguments that are transformative, that can bring us to that place over the rainbow where even bluebirds fly, and I am not the least bit interested in legal arguments that are not capable, in the end, of bringing us all there--black, white, brown, every color, male, female, able-bodied or not, rich or poor, English-speaking or not, gay, nongay, bisexual, and transgendered. The book is essential reading for law students, gay rights litigators, and activists. --Regina Marler

A book that explains the law to nonlawyers.:
This book is written for nonlawyers as well as lawyers. It is particularly good at explaining key legal concepts to the nonlawyer reader. The comparisons made between of various civil rights movements (e.g., race, sex, sexual orientation) are both interesting and helpful.