As the Locker Room conversation about same-sex marriage (likely) draws to a close, a couple of brief comments.
First, a basic principle of a free society is that individuals are ends in and of themselves, not simply means to an end. Arguments about the potential consequences of civil unions, or even of marriages, should speak to this important consideration. Gays and lesbians exist. They always have, in every society. It is not necessary to dispense with traditional moral views in this area to recognize that there are practical legal issues involved, and that compelling these fellow citizens to negotiate complex and costly contracts, while others can use simple, standard-form state marriage contracts, is inequitable (and from a consequentialist standpoint unwise since surely monogamy is to be preferred over promiscuity even if the behavior involved is deemed immoral).
Second, speaking to Roy’s earlier post about the separation of marriage and state, here’s a new Larry Elder column that comes to a similar conclusion.
