Gay marriage is going so mainstream, it might soon just be called “marriage.” In 2004, Massachusetts was the first state to legalize the institution, and less than a third of the country supported it. Today, 17 states, the District of Columbia, and 59 percent of Americans stand by the right of same-sex couples to marry.

Journalist Jo Becker has been getting a lot of attention for her new book on the gay marriage movement, Forcing The Spring: Inside the Fight for Marriage Equality (Penguin Press, $30). You can join her discussion on the topic at Politics and Prose this Friday, April 25th at 7 p.m.

Given the, well, highly gradual nature of legislative and cultural overhaul, Becker calls the transformation on gay marriage “the fastest shift in public opinion ever seen in modern American politics.” Forcing The Spring attributes the shift to the passionate, strategic reaction to California’s 2008 constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, Proposition 8.

Becker’s interest and insight into Prop 8 comes from the five years she spent with the campaign to defeat it. She was privy to the California Supreme Court case brought by lawyers Ted Olson and David Boies (who were opposing counsels in Bush v. Gore), and hushed Oval Office conversations about how to address the issue ahead of the 2012 election. She argues that California’s legal battle also made way for a federal challenge of the Defense of Marriage Act. Her interviews and anecdotes illustrate how this emotionally-charged debate is pushing politicians and citizens to reexamine their stances.

Forcing The Spring has received criticism for its emphasis on Prop 8 and the marriage equality movement since 2008, when Becker writes “the revolution begins.” Andrew Sullivan, Dan Savage, and prominent advocates say this depiction disrespects the many decades of work previously put forth toward gay marriage and civil rights.

Becker responded by calling her book “one chapter” in a larger narrative on marriage equality, but stood by the notion taking the fight to the Supreme Court was an essential turning point. Though her caveat isn’t explicit in Forcing The Spring, it may be worth keeping in mind for proper context.

Becker has won the Pulitzer Prize and many other awards as investigative reporter for The Washington Post and now, The New York Times.

The event is free to the public. Beer and wine will be available.