Tag: Marriage

Polygamy Illogic Strikes Again

First published in Between the Lines on March 23, 2006. In his nationally syndicated column of March 17, Charles Krauthammer uses the HBO series “Big Love” (about a modern-day polygamist family in Utah) as a springboard to telling gay-rights advocates “I told you so.” Krauthammer writes: In an essay 10 years ago, I pointed out… Continue reading Polygamy Illogic Strikes Again

Left-Handed Desks and Same-Sex Marriages

First published in Between the Lines on February 26, 2006 I have just completed a week’s worth of same-sex marriage debates with Glenn Stanton of Focus on the Family. During the debates, Stanton made an excellent case in favor of traditional heterosexual marriage. I really mean that. What he did not do—what he utterly failed… Continue reading Left-Handed Desks and Same-Sex Marriages

Open Relationships and Double Standards

First published in Between the Lines on February 9, 2006 As I embark upon a week’s worth of same-sex marriage debates with Glenn Stanton of Focus on the Family, I am bracing myself for his arguments. (There’s a useful summary of his position here.) In every debate we’ve had, Stanton has brought up Jonathan Yarbrough… Continue reading Open Relationships and Double Standards

Debating the Indefensible?

First published as “Angry Lesbians and Right-Wing Nutcases” in Between the Lines on January 26, 2006 In a few weeks I’ll be doing a “Michigan tour” debating same-sex marriage with Glenn Stanton of Focus on the Family. People sometimes ask me whether I ever encounter hostile audience members at these debates (I do). “Which kind… Continue reading Debating the Indefensible?

Kurtz’s Confusions

First published in Between the Lines, January 11, 2006 Stanley Kurtz is at it again. In the cover story for the December 26th Weekly Standard—“Here Come the Brides: Plural Marriage is Waiting in the Wings”—Kurtz cites a recent Dutch “triple wedding” as further evidence for the slippery slope from gay marriage to polygamy. (The Netherlands… Continue reading Kurtz’s Confusions

Same-Sex Marriage: The End of Rights?

First published October 27, 2005, in Between the Lines. During a recent debate in Bar Harbor, Maine, I was confronted with a seemingly novel argument against same-sex marriage. Rev. John Rankin of the Theological Education Institute of Hartford, Connecticut, claimed that same-sex marriage, far from being a civil right, actually undermines the very foundation of… Continue reading Same-Sex Marriage: The End of Rights?

Civil Discourse on Civil Unions

First published January 20, 2005, in Between the Lines Some of the nastiest mail I receive is not from right-wing homophobes, or even bitter ex-boyfriends, but from members of our own community who think I’m not progressive enough. For example, shortly after I argued in Second Thoughts on Civil Unions that we ought to fight… Continue reading Civil Discourse on Civil Unions