I’m blogging tonight from my brother’s home just outside Cleveland as I prepare for my presentation tomorrow at my oldest nephew’s high school. As president of his school’s conservative club, that bright young man has (together with the school’s Gay-Straight Alliance) invited me to offer a conservative view of gay rights. In line with my recent post on Log Cabin’s joining the left-wing gay groups in pushing for the abstraction of equality, I will hold that this conservative view focuses on freedom. On the marriage issue, I will favor an approach that promotes gradual social change, holding (as I have argued in my posts on gay marriage) that advocates of gay marriage need to make their case to the American people by talking about marriage in the same terms straight people do rather than by appealing to judges by using legal concepts. I plan on citing Jonathan Rauch’s chapter, “What Marriage is For” from his book, Gay Marriage : Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America while mentioning some of the arguments Dale Carpenter has made in his various pieces on marriage (e.g., the one I link here).
When I speak, I tend to speak from notes rather than reading a prepared text — so as better to engage my audience and respond to them. I will not be able to merely post my remarks. But, then again, I might use my notes as the basis for a post.
I do hope to blog while I’m on my journey, maybe even later tonight. But, right now, as I prepare for tomorrow, I’m still trying to come down to earth after meeting my youngest nephew for the first time. As soon as he looked up at me, his face lit up in a big smile, perhaps the highest praise I have yet received since his big sister called me a “silly.”
Great! Good luck! 🙂
Awesome! What a cool school your nephew must attend! Have his family send me a detailed mission statement on how to raise conservatives. I need all the help I can get!!! 🙂
Do you understand that the concepts of equal rights and equal protection under the law have nothing to do with the opinions of American citizens? The will of the majority has no bearing on the rights of an American citizen. These are not issues that need to be brought before the American people for their consideration. We do not need to have plebiscites to determine if enough citizens think their fellow citizens deserve equal protection under the law. So stop looking for validation from the American people and start demanding the rights we all deserve as productive, tax-paying citizens of this country. We don’t need the approval of a majority of Americans in order to enjoy the rights accorded to us by the U.S. Constitution.
And as we bypass the American people, Peter, they will, in state after state after state, amend their constitutions to block not only gay marriage but domestic partnerships as well.
I think Peter is unaware of Article V of the US Constitution.
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose Amendments to this Constitution, or, on the Application of the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, shall call a Convention for proposing Amendments, which, in either Case, shall be valid to all Intents and Purposes, as Part of this Constitution, when ratified by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several States, or by Conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other Mode of Ratification may be proposed by the Congress; Provided that no Amendment which may be made prior to the Year One thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any Manner affect the first and fourth Clauses in the Ninth Section of the first Article; and that no State, without its Consent, shall be deprived of its equal Suffrage in the Senate.
In short, the voters ALWAYS have the right to determine what is and isn’t appropriate. “Gay activists” like Peter have denied that as a means of coverup for what their hate tirades do to voters; however, as GPW elegantly put it, the voters are exposing the Peters of the world.