New Jersey Becomes 14th State to Allow Same-Sex Marriage

Governor Chris Christie withdrew his appeal to the New Jersey Supreme Court, which allowed same-sex marriages to be legal in his state beginning at midnight on October 21. Fourteen states now permit such unions.  ("NJ Gov. Christie Drops Gay Marriage Case, Risking Some Republican Ire," Reuters, October 21, 2013).

Review selected library titles related to the same-sex marriage at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

• civil unions
• gay couples
• gay rights
• same-sex marriage

Same-Sex Marriage in the United States: The Road to the Supreme Court by Jason Pierceson - Rowman and Littlefield, 2013. call number: 306.848 Pie
"Pierceson (political science, Univ. of Illinois, Springfield) . . . examines legislative and judicial action on the matter as it has arisen in state after state, producing an excellent survey of the litigation and legislation related to same-sex marriage."  - Library Journal review excerpt

From the Closet to the Altar: Courts, Backlash, and the Struggle for Same-Sex Marriage by Michael J. Klarman  - Oxford, 2013. call number: 346.73 Kla
"Harvard Law School's Klarman does a remarkable job using the debate over gay marriage as a lens for examining the factors that will go into the Court's inevitable engagement with the issue. . . (He) effectively conveys the history of the issue, from the 1950s to 2012, and provides just enough detail to allow lay readers to emerge with an informed understanding of the twisted path same-sex marriage has taken." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt

Government Shutdown Crisis and the Tea Party Movement

What's next for Ted Cruz and The Tea Party since the government shutdown came to an end? He met with House and Senate Democrats and Republicans from Texas to discuss how to work on issues important to the state.  ("Tea Party Senator Not Sorry for His Role in Budget Impasse," The (Toronto) Globe and Mail, October 16, 2013).

Review selected library titles related to the Tea Party and conservatism at LSC-CyFair Branch Library. Click the title of a listed item, select the "Request" button in the listing, and enter your library card number and PIN for each title you want to reserve for pick up at the library.

Use these subject words and phrases to find more in the library catalog:

• Tea Party movement
• conservatism
• United States politics

The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism by Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williamson - Oxford, 2012. call number: 320.52 Sko
"(The authors) conducted interviews with Tea Party members to explain the forces giving rise to the movement and its impact on the GOP and the U.S. political system. Aptly demonstrated are the Tea Party's overriding desires to remove President Obama from office and, as important, move the GOP, seen by the Tea Party as too moderate, to the extreme right."  - Library Journal review excerpt

Covenant of Liberty: The Ideological Origins of the Tea Party Movement by Michael Patrick Leahy  - Broadside Books, 2012.
call number: 320.52 Lea
"Leahy, an early activist and new media champion of the Tea Party, systematically and reasonably defends the movement as more than a flash in the pan, and suggests that it has its roots in the limited government ethos of Jefferson and the founding fathers. According to Leahy, the federal government has historically broken four key promises that the founders agreed to in principle: to abide by the written words of the Constitution; refrain from interfering with free markets; uphold the traditions and customs of the "fiscal constitution"; and commit to thoughtful deliberation in Congress." - Publishers Weekly review excerpt