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We Do!: American Leaders Who Believe in Marriage Equality

Edited by: Hookup Sites and the New Culture of Casual Intimacy and Governor Madeleine M. Kunin

Cherished former Vermont governor Kunin teams up with Baumgardner to tell the inspiring story of American politicians’ growing acceptance of gay marriage.

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What people are saying…

Included in the 2014 Over the Rainbow list

“A remarkably upbeat little slab of work detailing the politicians out there who are good-hearted, decent and basically worth knowing about.”
—Metro Times Blog (Detroit)

“Baumgardner and Kunin have compiled the writings and public pronouncements of public officials and other figures on the issue of marriage equality . . . This book will serve as a resource for what was said about the struggle for marriage equality.”
—New York Journal of Books

“We Do . . . triumphantly chronicles this recent chapter of this country’s history. This volume demonstrates, through speeches, interviews, and commentary, the encouraging story of American acceptance of gay marriage and the roles that politicians—gay and straight—have played in that history.”
—Philadelphia Tribune

“We Do! . . . compiles speeches, interviews and commentary from 1977 through 2013, in which an array of political leaders . . . voice their unconditional support for the queer citizens of the US in their quest for same-sex marriage rights.”
—The Bay Area Reporter Online

“An excellent resource for speeches and essays relating to the LGBTQ-rights movement.”
—Rosemary and Reading Glasses (blog)

“With the announcement late last week by Attorney General Holder, gay marriage equality took another major step forward in the US. A recent book on the subject highlights to path politicians have taken from Harvey Milk of San Francisco in 1977 until now, to advance the cause of marriage equality. In the words of co-author Jennifer Baumgardner, ‘this is a deeply radical book.'”
—Sun News Miami

“We Do! is a powerful look at the long battle for marriage equality in America. As Vermont’s governor, Madeleine Kunin was a leader on gay rights years before it was fashionable and years before our state became the first in the country to allow civil unions and, later, gay marriage without a court order. The struggle for gay rights in Vermont was very difficult, divisive, and acrimonious. If you talk to young people today about gay rights or gay marriage, they ask, What was the big deal? Madeleine and Jennifer Baumgardner remind us what a big deal it was and how important it is.”
—United States Senator Bernie Sanders

“Madeleine Kunin argues that empowering women to succeed at home and at work is both good economics and good social policy. She presents a convincing road map for how we achieve that vision, and calls on all of us to be part of a brighter future.”
—President Bill Clinton

“In her role as author and activist, Jennifer Baumgardner has permanently changed the way people think about feminism . . . and will shape the next hundred years of politics and culture.”
—The Commonwealth Club of California, hailing Baumgardner as one of Six Visionaries for the Twenty-First Century

“The gay marriage movement, like all civil rights movements, began with individuals telling the truth about who they are to a world that doesn’t accept them. It ends with an entire generation of young people who reject blatant civil rights discrimination . . . We Do! triumphantly chronicles this recent chapter.”
—New Pages

Description

*Every copy of We Do! ordered through this page is SIGNED by both Governor Madeleine M. Kunin and Jennifer Baumgardner, while supplies last

Remember when gay marriage was the easiest way to inflame an otherwise mild electorate? This volume demonstrates, through speeches, interviews, and commentary, the encouraging story of American acceptance of gay marriage and the roles that politicians—gay and straight—have played in that history.

This movement, like all civil rights movements, began with individuals telling the truth about who they are to a world that doesn’t accept them. It ends with an entire generation of young people who reject blatant civil rights discrimination. From Supervisor Harvey Milk articulating in 1978 why gay people in all fields must be out and visible (“For invisible, we remain in limbo—a myth, a person with no parents, no brothers, no sisters, no friends who are straight, no important positions in employment”); to Governor Andrew Cuomo blinking back tears as he discusses his pride in making gay marriage a reality in New York in 2011; to President Obama’s unprecedented support; and the courage of many other American politicians—We Do! triumphantly chronicles this recent chapter of our history.

Read about We Do! at The Next Best Book Blog’s spotlight on Akashic titles.

Please click here to listen to an interview with Vermont Governor Madeleine Kunin on The Vermont Conversation with David Goodman.

Book Details

Paperback: 224 pages
Published: 10/1/13
IBSN: 9781617751875
e-IBSN: 9781617752018

Genre: Nonfiction

Authors

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Governor MADELEINE M. KUNIN was the first woman governor of Vermont, and served as the deputy secretary of education and ambassador to Switzerland under President Bill Clinton. She is the author of three books: Living a Political Life; Pearls, Politics and Power; and The New Feminist Agenda; she is also the coauthor of We Do!: American Leaders Who Believe in Marriage Equality. Currently a Marsh Professor-at-Large at the University of Vermont, she is a commentator on Vermont Public Radio and a blogger for the Huffington Post. She lives in Burlington, Vermont.