Love and Obstacles: The Case for Gay Marriage

David Boies is a founder of and the chairman of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner. This year, with Theodore Olson, he successfully argued in federal court for the overturning of Proposition 8, California's ban of same-sex marriage. He previously served as lead counsel to Al Gore in his litigation relating to the 2000 Presidential election and as special trial counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice in its successful antitrust suit against Microsoft. In 2004, he published "Courting Justice."

Brian S. Brown is the president of the National Organization for Marriage, a non-profit organization that supports traditional marriage and the faith communities that sustain it. Previously, he served as NOM's executive director and as the executive director of NOM-California. Before joining NOM, he spent five years as the executive director of the Family Institute of Connecticut, during which time he developed it into one of the largest statewide pro-family organizations in the Northeast.

R. Clarke Cooper is the executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, an organization charged with building an inclusive Republican Party and advocating for gay-rights legislation. He is also the executive director of the Liberty Education Forum, a nonpartisan educational foundation. Previously, he served in the George W. Bush Administration as a diplomat; in his last position, he was an alternate representative to the United Nations Security Council. He is a combat veteran from the Iraq campaign and remains a captain in the Army Reserve.

Cynthia Nixon is an actress who has won two Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award. Last spring, at a gay-marriage rally in New York, she announced her engagement to Christine Marinoni. Last fall, she spoke at the National Equality March, in Washington, and this year she has devoted much of her time to Fight Back New York, a political-action committee whose sole purpose is to unseat New York State senators who have voted against marriage equality.

Gene Robinson was elected Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire in 2003, becoming the first openly gay diocesan bishop in the Anglican Communion. In 2009, he received the Stephen F. Kolzak Media Award from GLAAD. Last January, he delivered the invocation at the opening event of President Obama's inaugural weekend. He is the author of "In the Eye of the Storm" and the subject of the forthcoming documentary "The Truth Will Set You Free."

Jeffrey Toobin is a New Yorker staff writer and the author of, most recently, "The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court."