Marriage & Family

For Whom the Bell Chimes

By Justin Katz | November 21, 2008 |

Per his usual participation, msteven makes a fair and reasonable point: The truth is that marriage is and always has been open to opposite-sex couples that are not open to children. I agree that the issue isn’t JUST about the acceptance of homosexuality, and that allowing SSM is a significant change to the historical definition…

What It’s About

By Justin Katz | November 19, 2008 |

Fr. John Kiley offers a clarification of purpose on the marriage issue: What must be maintained at this time, however, is that Christians and other persons of good will have as their primary focus the defense of marriage. As peripheral to Christianity as same-sex activities are, it is not primarily a struggle against homosexuality that…

The State of Thought on the Left

By Justin Katz | November 17, 2008 |

Reading Pat Crowley unpacking a three-sentence summary from my recent post on same-sex marriage is like watching a bad magician pull rags out of his sleeve and pretend that they came out of a nearby jewelry box: I guess the whole idea about “equal protection”, that silly little constitutional issue, isn’t relevant on the question…

A Tyrannical Mindset

By Justin Katz | November 15, 2008 |

Of course, we can’t tar a social movement with the acts of a few, but at some point, the volume of incidents bespeaks a mindset. One assaulted immigrant may not suffice. One elderly woman mobbed and forced to watch as her cross is stomped may still fall short. I wonder, though, how many vandalized churches…

The Armies of Tolerance

By Justin Katz | November 14, 2008 |

Clearly, this 67-year-old woman was inciting the peaceful crowd to violence. Too bad the police weren’t there to arrest her! (Video of the aftermath, and the original incident from a different angle here.)

Through the Cultural Looking Glass

By Justin Katz | November 11, 2008 |

I see the gang over at RI Future is running hard in the post-election season with same-sex marriage advocacy. I suppose that means we can start the clock until the first accusation that the political right is being divisive by not ceding. Believe it or not, what drew me so deeply into this debate seven…

Re: Marriage Amendments

By Justin Katz | November 5, 2008 |

As Marc notes, traditional marriage won big, this election, despite a political turnout that would have seemed likely to point in the other direction. For federalist conservatives, these results are pretty close to the ideal of how things should work: The people of each state decide their policies, and when the judiciary over reaches, the…

Marriage Amendments Pass Nationwide

By Marc Comtois | November 5, 2008 |

Florida, Arizona and probably California have all passed amendments banning gay marriage. As Maggie Gallagher put it: This vote, like earlier votes in Wisconsin, Oregon, and Michigan, affirms that when it comes to marriage there is no such thing as a blue state or a red state. Americans support marriage as the union of husband…

Positioning on Marriage

By Justin Katz | November 2, 2008 |

It’s quite convenient that the New York Times would present Barack Obama as something of a cultural conservative on the issue of same-sex marriage — what with a contentious high-stakes battle over marriage on the ballot in California: Several gay friends and wealthy gay donors to Senator Barack Obama have asked him over the years…

One Way to National SSM

By Justin Katz | October 28, 2008 |

Look, I’m not making any claims as to whether and how Obama will seek to silence the political right wing, or how much he’ll succeed if he tries. As I’ve been reading various news items throughout the campaign season, a plot has begun to form. It’s not a matter of predicting the future; it’s a…