Equal Before the Law : How Iowa Led Americans to Marriage Equality

"Equal Before the Law fills an important need, and does it very well. Much has been written about the fight for LGBT rights at the national level, but the progress we have achieved on one important issue--same-sex marriage--has occurred almost entirely at the state level, and too little has been written about that. This insightful, informative, and well-written account of the fight for same-sex marriage in Iowa helps fill that vacuum very well. Tom Witosky and Marc Hansen do an excellent job of weaving three threads together--the personal, the judicial, and the political. It is an essential addition to any reading list about the fight for LGBT equality in this century."--Congressman Barney Frank (retired) "Equal Before the Law grabs your attention on page one and never lets you go. This is a first-of-its-kind, behind-the-scenes look into the decision that changed marriage in America forever. You'll chuckle, you may even cry, and agree or disagree with the Court's decision, you'll put the book down understanding why, and how, Varnum changed everything."--Zach Wahls, LGBTQ advocate "Tom Witosky and Marc Hansen have told a compelling story of how elected judges in Iowa--America's heartland--struck down prohibitions on same-sex marriage as discriminatory, out of the state's tradition of tolerance and equality. Some of these courageous jurists were recalled, but their prescience offered a pathway to a greater acceptance of marriage equality in the country."--Al Hunt, Bloomberg