Against Equality: Queer Critiques of Gay Marriage

When it comes to gay marriage, the times, they are a-confusing. Indeed. Consider that while gays in California and the rest of the nation are working tirelessly to secure marriage equality, not all members of the LGBTQ community believe that marriage equality is an appropriate goal. Against Equaltiy is a collective of writers, artists and agitators focused on critiquing mainstream gay and lesbian politics. For example, should gay and lesbian politics really demand inclusion in the U.S. military? Should it really support hate crime legislation which - when enforced - will expand the prision industrial complex? And in the push for marriage equality, are not gays and lesbians merely adopting the rhetoric of the Right which privleges marriage, the nuclear family, monogamy and "normalcy" over all other social relations? If marriage is merely a means to achieve health care for all, why does health care have to be a privilege of state-sanctioned marriage? Why doesn't the LGBTQ community channel their efforts more appropriately toward health care policy? Jarret's guest is Ryan Conrad of the Against Equality collective (www.againstequality.org) and editor of Against Equality: Queer Critiques of Gay Marriage (available via www.akpress.org)