Love Wins audiobook

Wow! This is one of the most profound and impactful books and I read much of it through tears. Filled with remarkable people and reads like a legal thriller, this book is about the application of the law to suit the tides of time so as not to trample the fundamental rights of every person enshrined under the Constitution - the right to marry, that right whom to marry, that right to choose whom to love and have a serious committed relationship with. The fight may be arduous, grueling and draining but it was worth the struggle of the groundbreaking US Supreme Court case that led to one of the most important, national civil rights victories in decades—the legalization of same-sex marriage.Justice Kennedy pronounced: “No union is more profound than marriage for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than they once were, and it would misunderstand petitioners to say that they disrespect or diminish the idea of marriage in these cases. They are pleased that they do respect it, but they respect it so deeply they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law and the Constitution grants them that right.”

Going into this book, I had no doubt it was 5-star material and that there would be goosebumps and teary-eyed-ness throughout thanks to the awe and gratitude I have for the brave individuals who fought for marriage equality. I married my partner of 20-ish years in November 2014 just 32 days after it became legal to do so in Arizona via 9th Circuit ruling and about 7 months ahead of the ultimate Supreme Court ruling making marriage equality legal nationwide. The ability to marry gave us two middle-aged men the confidence and courage to finally and fully come out to our family and friends and live open and honest lives. And with that we also fond ourselves accidental/unintentional/reluctant (??) "activists"/ground-breakers as in our social circles we were among the first same-sex couples to marry or to buy wedding rings at the local jewelry store or find ourselves having to convince our accountant that we were legally married in Arizona (and likewise, she had to explain to us what it *really* meant to live in a community property state and file a joint tax return for the first time). So again, how the likes of Jim Obergefell, his late partner John Arthur, Edie Windsor (not so much the focus here as the story starts after that Supreme Court ruling), and the lawyers/allies who were on the front lines of this battle have personally impacted our household's life is truly immeasurable. Removing all that emotion from it, the book itself is a pretty straightforward, reader-friendly, not too terribly legal-ese accounting of the personal lives of the plaintiffs and court cases. Published to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the ruling, I kind of "felt" the deadline. It had a school assignment/report quality to it. No real huge surprise as Cenziper is an investigative reporter for the Washington Post so there was a reporter-y/"just the facts" quality with the more passionate prose reserved to and directly lifted from actual courtroom transcripts. And while Obergefell is co-author, his story is not told first person narrative - and perhaps, as I am writing this, would have been much more my preference -- a mix of straight reporting and (more) personal memoir. Settling on 4 stars -- 5 star material and story and emotions, dropping a star for technical merit.

My wife and I wouldn't have been able to marry without the brave men and women who are the subject of this book. We owe them a lot. The least I could do was read their story.

4.5 - As the title says, this is the story of the lovers and lawyers who fought (and won) the landmark case for marriage equality here in the US. This book is mainly focused on the personal stories of the plaintiffs and the history of their lawyer working on LGBT+ rights cases in Cincinnati. I think if you’re looking for a book that goes really in depth with the legal side of things and how they researched the case and what they used to argue their points then you might be a little bit let down by this book. Of course it goes over what happens in the different courts, what is said while the cases were being argued, and the different rulings and opinions but this is not dense non-fiction for legal scholars or lawyers. This book is about the human side of the case, their relationships, their marriages, their children, and their losses. It’s a moving story about the people who decided to fight for their rights and ended up winning the case for marriage equality in all 50 states.

I remember what a momentous day it was in 2015 when the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. Now this book Love Wins traces through all the details and the people who fought so hard through decades of legal battles that finally made same-sex marriage the law of the land. It's a wonderful, emotional, inspirational story of probably the biggest civil rights decision of my lifetime. I like that this book focuses on personal stories of the plaintiffs and their families, in addition to containing loads of legal details on the wins and losses that happened along the way. Really, it's a great book if you want to learn more about what went into making same-sex marriage a reality in this country.

’Love Wins’ is a book about love, about a social fight, about a historic event… it is a book about humankind. Going throw the pages of this book was an emotional rollercoaster for me. The stories in this book made me feel scared, outraged, angry at the way we who are part of a minority are treated as second-class citizens. However, their fight also gave me hope and showed me that the most powerful weapon to overcome prejudices and injustices will always be love.‘Love win’ must be a compulsory reading for all LGBTQI community members (especially the new generations) so we don’t forget the struggles we have had to overcome to be where we are and to keep fighting for what we deserve as a community. But, I mainly hope that this book reaches our straight allies so they realise how important their role is in our fight for equality.

This book chronicles the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, which might be the last great civil rights case out of the United States Supreme Court in my lifetime. I read much of it through tears. It starts in the 1970s, with children being bullied because they were gay. It runs through some of the trials and tribulations of the gay rights movement, with special focus on Cincinnati. I did not know that Cincinnati was one of the first cities to pass a gay rights ordinance and one of the first cities to have it repealed by referendum. I did not know that Ohio was one of the first states to enshrine the homophobic Defense of Marriage Act into its constitution. I did not think about the real people living in Cincinnati voting on these measures. I cried reading about them. It runs through the 1990s, when two of our main characters, John Arthur and Jim Obergefell, fell in love and set up a household despite living in Ohio. It recounts John’s ALS; their decision to marry; their realization they will not be recognized as married even in death. It recounts John’s death and Jim’s decision to pursue the case that led to something wonderful. It also tells us about their lawyer, Al Gerhardstein, who fights for the dispossessed and oppressed despite threats of physical violence and repeated defeats. He defended Planned Parenthood and he defended John and Jim. This is not a perfect book. The prose falters; the timeline gets hazy; and it is not meaningfully intersectional. It repeatedly made me wonder about something I’d never wondered about before: was John loaded and if so, why? I wanted it to dive deeper into why homophobia was such a part of our heritage and how many heroic people rose to fight history. I was frustrated that it ignored that little deeper level. There was no discussion of Stonewall; no discussion of ACT-UP; no exploration of the big story of the deconstruction of gender. I rolled my eyes at the descriptions of Obergerfell himself (“the pensive man who had made love and loss seem transcendent, not gay or straight but infinitely human.” Dude. You don’t get have that line in a book where you are credited as an author.) But despite its failings, it hit me hard. These were – are – real people who made the world better. Who stood up to bullies and challenged the patriarchy even if the book never uses the word. (It should have). Well worth the time.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I enjoy reading non-fiction where places that I live or have lived or have vacationed etc. are mentioned. I grew up in and still live in Cincinnati, played baseball with Al Gerhardstein’s son, and proposed to my wife in a park mentioned in the book. As a lawyer, I spent half of the book nearly in tears, being inspired by lawyers and plaintiffs fighting for what is right. I also spent a good portion of the book muttering “motherf***ers” about the people who would have the law turn its back on people just because of who they love. All in all, a beautiful and moving book, which is obviously not a common experience when reading non-fiction. I am so happy that the story ended the way it did for the families. In a dark time such as this one, it is joyful to be reminded of the arc of history. Love will eventually defeat hate and nihilism. Love wins.

“I’m still getting used to what happened on June 26, 2015 and my place in it. People call me a hero, a pioneer, a courageous man. I don’t think of myself that way. I simply think of myself as someone who was lucky enough to fall in love and keep my promises to the man I loved. I’m also someone who finally found his voice.” A detailed recounting and emotional narrative of some of the most important civil rights judicial cases of the 21st century (thus far). The phrase ‘Obergefell v. Hodges’ is now we’ll known, but this book focuses on the teams of lawyers and plaintiffs behind that phrase, particularly Jim Obergefell, John Arthur, and civil rights attorney Al Gerhardstein.

I really appreciated getting to hear the backgrounds of all the people involved and hearing extended portions of the oral arguments and briefs. It was interesting and heartfelt.

Emotional and powerful look back at the landmark case that gave marriage equality to the LGBTQ community. Beautiful read.