“I’m a liberal Democrat. And I do not favor same-sex marriage. Do those positions sound contradictory? To me, they fit together.”
So writes David Blankenhorn, author of The Future of Marriage , in a recent LA Times editorial. The legalization of same-sex marriage, he writes, is not an easy case of good versus evil, but one of competing goods: the reduction of homophobia and the protection of every child’s birthright to a loving, stable family. Which wins out?
For Blankenhorn, the truly liberal responseaimed at societal flourishing and the protection of human rightsmust be honest about our past to be honest about our future:
Many seem to believe that marriage is simply a private love relationship between two people. They accept this view, in part, because Americans have increasingly emphasized and come to value the intimate, emotional side of marriage, and in part because almost all opinion leaders today, from journalists to judges, strongly embrace this position. That’s certainly the idea that underpinned the California Supreme Court’s legalization of same-sex marriage. But I spent a year studying the history and anthropology of marriage, and I’ve come to a different conclusion.
Read the rest of Blankenhorn’s case here .
While I have you, can I ask you something? I’ll be quick.
Twenty-five thousand people subscribe to First Things. Why can’t that be fifty thousand? Three million people read First Things online like you are right now. Why can’t that be four million?
Let’s stop saying “can’t.” Because it can. And your year-end gift of just $50, $100, or even $250 or more will make it possible.
How much would you give to introduce just one new person to First Things? What about ten people, or even a hundred? That’s the power of your charitable support.
Make your year-end gift now using this secure link or the button below.