What can heterosexual allies do to support gay rights? What should allies say about gay rights issues as they come up in families, schools, workplaces, or house of worship? When (if ever) is it appropriate for allies to let others wonder if the allies themselves are gay? How much work or sacrifice must allies take on in order to do their share?

Ian Ayres and Jennifer Brown - law professors, activists, husband and wife - answer these questions and give practical advice about "what you can do to support gay rights."

Straightforward advances a thesis that is at once simple and groundbreaking: to make real progress at the central flashpoints of controversy - employment discrimination, gays in the military, marriage rights, exclusion from the Boy Scouts, and even religious controversies over homosexuality - non-gay as well as gay people need to participate in the discussion, debate, and decision-making - and speak up for equality. Straightforward gives allies a way of thinking about how much of their time and money should be devoted to this cause, and thus helps guide individuals between the extremes of inaction and self-abnegation. At the personal level, the book is peppered with stories about real people and the decisions they have faced at home, in church, at work, in school, and in politics. At the level of policy making, the book suggests a host of truly new ideas - including the Fair Employment mark, The Vacation Pledge, The Informed Association statute, and the Inclusive Command - as incremental strategies for pursuing equality.