On The Alleged Death Of Marriage
The need to accept the evolution of marriage in the United States
Post Tagged with: "Gay Marriage"
Weighing In: Pride or Politics?
The gay rights movement should be focusing on political pragmatism and the humanity of homosexuals rather than pride.
Judges as Candidates: The Good, the Bad, and the Political
Impartiality and the judiciary are frequently considered synonymous. Even outside of the U.S., the Supreme Court, judges on state supreme courts and other higher-level positions enjoy lengthy terms, a good degree of freedom from political pressure, and the promise of being appointed based upon their merits rather than party affiliation. Or at least they should. An actual look at how [...]
Good Ross and Bad Ross Square Off In New York Times
I’m starting to think that Ross Douthat may have a split personality disorder. As I wrote a few weeks ago, Douthat has “a wonderful way of casually saying things that you don’t hear many conservatives say.” Today’s column is no different: he begins by explaining that the usual conservative arguments against gay marriage have “lost because they’re wrong.” He continues: [...]
The Dangers of Direct Democracy
In Federalist No. 63, James Madison wrote that the defining principle of American democracy, as compared to Athenian democracy, “lies in the total exclusion of the people in their collective capacity.” But since Madison wrote those words, several direct-democratic institutions have been introduced into American politics. California became the first state to adopt a ballot-initiative process in 1911, enabling citizens [...]
Ousted for Being Gay?
Such a headline is perhaps not so surprising coming from elements of the Republican Party’s religious right, see Larry Craig. The uneasy balance of openly and forcefully opposing gay marriage while still attempting to be accepting of gay Republicans like the Log Cabin Republicans has made it difficult for many leaders. The fact remains that being exposed as a gay [...]
The Folly of Perry v. Schwarzenegger
In my latest Harvard Independent column, I argue that the legal challenge to Proposition 8 in a California federal court may end up backfiring if it reaches the Supreme Court, because there almost certainly are not five votes for judicially-imposed gay marriage on the current court. Furthermore, I said, an anti-marriage equality ruling would suck the air out of the [...]
Three Weeks of HPRgument
We began The HPRgument with the goal of creating a new space on campus for lively discussion of the things that matter — political, cultural, or Harvardian Since we began three weeks ago, debate on this site has been spirited and engaged: we’ve taken on the racial politics of Avatar, praised Obama’s “shrewd” bank tax, discussed the “ Sociology of [...]
Perry: The New Loving?
In today’s Crimson, Avishai Don argues that, if California’s voter-approved gay marriage ban is upheld in the courts, it will “legitimize the concerns of the segregationists four decades ago.” But the correlation between Perry v. Schwarzenegger and Loving v. Virginia is, legally speaking, less than one-to-one, even though the comparison makes for a compelling emotional argument. Yes, it’s true that [...]
Martha Coakley and the Politics of Despair
Here’s the deal: if Martha Coakley loses tonight then it’s good news for Lloyd Blankfein, who’s worried about financial regulation reform, for the super rich, whose taxes will remain low, and for everyone generally interested in preventing Obama from governing this country. On the other hand, her loss is bad news for those of us who care about adequate health [...]
Gay Marriage and Neutral Principles
With all this talk about gay marriage, we eventually have to come to the question: Who decides? Who gets to say whether we will have gay marriage or not? And that question eventually becomes, Is it okay for courts to legalize gay marriage if legislatures won’t? Publius over at Obsidian Wings has some interesting thoughts on the matter. He claims [...]
“Never On the Planning Committee”
I know that Daniel is only trying to soften his blows, but really, I don’t think my argument can be “innocuous” and “unfortunate” at the same time. Come on, tell me what you really think! I can appreciate how it seems that liberals are always in the business of telling people what rights they do and don’t have. But, in [...]
