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On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court ruled that state bans on gay marriage were unconstitutional, making same-sex unions legal throughout the United States. But the road to victory was much longer than many know.

In our upcoming event on July 16th Friday 9am PDT/12pm EDT, LCN will be joined by author Sasha Issenberg to guide us through same-sex marriage’s unexpected path from the unimaginable to the inevitable. Sasha Issenberg will discuss his new book The Engagement: America’s Quarter-Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage in conversation with Hope Wood, Co-founder and Principal of Hope Action Change Consulting and longtime LCN member.

The story begins in Hawaii in 1990, when a rivalry among local activists triggered a sequence of events that forced the state to justify excluding gay couples from marriage. In the White House, one president signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which elevated the matter to a national issue, and his successor tried to write it into the Constitution. Over twenty-five years, the debate played out across the country, from the first legal same-sex weddings in Massachusetts to the epic face-off over California’s Proposition 8 and, finally, to the landmark Supreme Court decisions of United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges. From churches to hedge funds, no corner of American life went untouched.

This richly detailed narrative follows the coast-to-coast conflict through courtrooms and war rooms, bedrooms and boardrooms, to shed light on every aspect of a political and legal controversy that divided Americans like no other. Following a cast of characters that includes those who sought their own right to wed, those who fought to protect the traditional definition of marriage, and those who changed their minds about it, Issenberg invites us to a riveting story about a banner topic of the modern culture wars.

This event is open to everyone.

What: Book Event on The Engagement: America’s Quarter-Century Struggle Over Same-Sex Marriage by Sasha Issenberg, in conversation with Hope Wood

When: July 16th Friday 9-10am Pacific Daylight Time / 12-1pm Eastern Daylight Time

How: Register by clicking here (registration deadline: July 15th)

Sasha Issenberg is the author of three previous books, on topics ranging from the global sushi business to medical tourism and the science of political campaigns. He covered the 2008 election as a national political reporter in the Washington bureau of The Boston Globe, the 2012 election for Slate, the 2016 election for Bloomberg Politics and Businessweek, and 2020 for The Recount. He is the Washington correspondent for Monocle, and has also written for New York magazine, The New York Times Magazine, and George, where he served as a contributing editor. He teaches in the political science department at UCLA.

Hope Wood is a heart-minded, racial justice leadership and organizational development coach and consultant who hasdevoted the last 20 years of her life to organizing across California and the United States – building inclusive classrooms, programs, campaigns and organizations that increased participation in our communities and in our democracy. Hope has served as Deputy Managing Director of Campaigns at Color Of Change, CA Battleground States Coordinator in the 2007-08 Obama campaign, Organizing Training Manager and Interim Training Director at New Organizing Institute. In 2009, Hope co-developed the Courage Campaign Deputy Field Organizer program, helping to develop leaders and build local progressive coalitions across California in the aftermath of Prop 8.

We hope to see you on July 16th!