Attitudes toward homosexuality range from condemnation to pity to indifference to respect. This range of viewpoints also appears in the legal community, reflected in legislation, legal decisionmaking, and legal scholarship. Sexual Orientation and the Law examines the legal problems faced by gay men and lesbians: the interaction between gays and the criminal justice system; discrimination in public and private employment; first amendment issues posed by gay students and teachers in public schools and universities; legal problems faced in same-sex relationships; child custody and visitation rights, as well as the ability to become foster and adoptive parents; and other contexts, including immigration, insurance, incorporation of gay rights organizations, and local legislation to prevent sexual orientation discrimination.

The Introduction establishes a theoretical framework for approaching gay and lesbian legal issues, and an Afterword updates the comprehensive coverage of all legal developments through the summer of 1989. This review and analysis of the current state of the law is an important part of the discussion and debate that will make antigay discrimination recognized as a legitimate issue and gay concerns part of the mainstream of legal discourse.