This book exposes how a coalition of political, religious, and civic leaders are using the issue of sex to frighten, misinform, and bully Americans—paving the way for dramatic new public policies that are already restricting everyone's rights.

There is an active, well-funded collusion between government, religious fundamentalism, and "morality groups" in the United States, and this collective is getting stronger. While this movement describes its activities as being focused on positive objectives such as protecting children and supporting marriage, it's actually waging a War on Sex. This ideological crusade represents a fundamental challenge to secular American governance—one that is changing the rules of American politics as it dangerously undermines democracy.

Americans are more vulnerable today than ever to anxiety about sexual danger, to believing that their sexuality is not "normal" or moral, and to laws and public policies that restrict their rights, criminalize their consenting behavior, and confuse and miseducate their children. In the second edition of America's War on Sex: The Continuing Attack on Law, Lust, and Liberty, psychologist, sex therapist, and courtroom expert witness Marty Klein sets the record straight and uncovers how the "Sexual Disaster Industry" works—a powerful social and political propaganda machine that is supported by the very citizens it victimizes.

This book analyzes eight "battlegrounds" in which America's War on Sex is being fought and examines how each one is the focus of an unrelenting struggle to regulate sexuality in direct contradiction to our Constitutional guarantees, scientific fact, and the needs of average Americans. Klein places these various attacks on our rights in historical context, explains how the money and political power are coordinated from the same sources, and shows how the Religious Right inflames Americans' anxiety about sexuality even as it proposes repressive schemes to reduce that anxiety. This book tackles a sensitive and volatile topic head-on, addressing how the political, social, historical, religious, and emotional issues surrounding public policy interfaces with sexuality as no other work has before.

Highlights
• Shows the connections between our increasing personal anxiety about sex and America's increasingly flawed and dangerous public policies relating to sexuality
• Exposes the hypocrisy of "conservative" religious and political movements, and reveals how their claims about protecting Americans hide a different—and dangerous—agenda
• Includes a powerful introduction by Nadine Strossen, beloved and longtime leader of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
• Provides an entertaining and enlightening read filled with witty analysis and fearless, fact-based commentary
• Includes over 400 footnotes documenting Klein's observations and descriptions
• Presents relevant, timely information for both lay readers and professionals in the fields of law, medicine, social science, education, and psychology

Marty Klein, PhD, has been a certified sex therapist and licensed marriage and family therapist for 31 years. A tireless speaker, he has given over 700 keynote speeches, training programs, and lectures across North America, Europe, and Asia. Klein has been honored by both the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. He has written several other books about sexuality, including Ask Me Anything: Dr. Klein Answers the Sex Questions You'd Love to Ask and Sexual Intelligence: What We Really Want from Sex—and How to Get It. In 2007, the first edition of this title was awarded Best Sexuality Book of the Year by the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists. A respected policy analyst, Klein has been an expert witness or invited plaintiff in several historic federal anti-censorship trials, and has written and published the monthly Sexual Intelligence for 12 years, a journal that uncovers and analyzes the ways in which our sexual rights are being challenged.

Reviews
“Klein's careful work torpedoing the erotophobic war against sex had to be done, and he did it well.”—Journal of Sex Research

Endorsements
"Edgy, provocative, and highly persuasive. With a clinician's attention to nuance and an advocate's passion for understanding, Klein forces us to confront why any free nation would go to war with its most intimate impulses."—Reverend Barry Lynn, Director, Americans United for the Separation of Church & State

“With a compelling style and exhilarating pace, this is the most comprehensive treatment of this topic to date. And what a spellbinding speech you gave us.”—Lawrence Walters, Esquire, Former President, First Amendment Lawyers’ Association

“Marty takes apart American sex panics with surgical precision.”—Susie Bright, Editor, “Herotica” series

“One of the most important and practical books on sex since the Sexual Revolution began. It demolishes dozens of unsupported claims commonly made by the Religious Right and fundamentalist politicians.”—Dr. Robert Francoeur, Editor International Encyclopedia of Sexuality

“I really loved this well-documented and well-written book. For anyone with any affection for sexual privacy, sexual literacy, and sexual choices, this book is a must-read."—Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Past President Society for the Scientific Study of Sex