On Conservatism and Same Sex Marriage

Katherine Kersten wrote this column for the Strib yesterday. In it she states what she believes to be the Conservative conventional wisdom is in regards to same sex marriage: we're not about oppressing gays and lesbians, we're not bigots, but rather believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman and should be defined accordingly.

Craig Westover takes issue with her premise and does an excellent job fisking her column.

His summation:

{...}In final analysis, Kersten’s argument is really an inverse liberal argument -- we have the power, our values rule. Even accepting the worst case viewpoint that homosexuals are evil people and gay marriage is an abomination in the eyes of God, the true conservative political argument, if one is not going to exterminate gays and/or take their children, is that it is more beneficial to extend the protections and stability of marriage to gays -- not all at once but in increments -- than it is to marginalize gay families and their children and consequently promote the pathologies that marriage is praised for preventing.

Gays -- conservative gays -- do not want to redefine marriage. The want to participate in it. And even if they didn’t, conservatives ought to be encouraging them to do so with the same vigor and for the same reasons we encourage our own children "to settle down and raise a family."

Go read the whole thing. It's well worth your time.

{Hat Tip: Doug}

Posted by Kathy at June 4, 2005 10:18 AM