Category: Columns

John’s column “The Gay Moralist” appeared bi-weekly in Michigan’s Between the Lines from 2002-2007, and then weekly at 365Gay.com from 2007-2011. His columns and op-eds have also appeared in other venues, including the Independent Gay Forum, The Advocate, the Los Angeles Times, The New Republic and the New York Times. Most of these columns are archived here.

The Gay Parenting Difference – and Why it Doesn’t Matter to Marriage

First published at 365gay.com on June 11, 2010 Opponents of marriage equality often refer to the “untested experiment” of same-sex parenting, asserting that we just don’t know how children in these families will fare over the long haul. They point to the fact that there has never been a significant long-term longitudinal study of such… Continue reading The Gay Parenting Difference – and Why it Doesn’t Matter to Marriage

My Daddy’s Name is ‘Donor’

First published at 365gay.com on June 4, 2010 In our public debates over marriage equality, Glenn Stanton often holds up a picture, taken from a lesbian parenting website, of a small child wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the words “My Daddy’s Name is Donor.” The line usually elicits a laugh from the audience, prompting Glenn… Continue reading My Daddy’s Name is ‘Donor’

Is it Appropriate to Ask if a Potential Justice is Gay?

First published at 365gay.com on May 21, 2010 “Are you, or have you ever been, a homosexual?” From the moment President Obama nominated Solicitor General Elena Kagan to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, observers have been itching to ask her some version of this question—or as I’ll call it, The Question. For… Continue reading Is it Appropriate to Ask if a Potential Justice is Gay?

The Message of Marriage

First published at 365gay.com on April 30, 2010 If I’ve asked it once I’ve asked it a hundred times: how does marriage equality hurt heterosexuals? Recently I posed the question yet again to Maggie Gallagher, outgoing president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), as she visited my ethics class at Wayne State University via… Continue reading The Message of Marriage

Conversations with Maggie Gallagher

First published at 365gay.com on April 23, 2010 Maggie Gallagher has announced that she is stepping down as president of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), adding that she will remain on NOM’s executive board while pursuing future projects, including a book with me, “Debating Same-Sex Marriage,” for Oxford University Press. This prompted some surprised… Continue reading Conversations with Maggie Gallagher

Is Homosexuality Connected to Pedophilia?

First published at 365gay.com on April 16, 2010 Comments earlier this week by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone linking homosexuality to pedophilia have drawn almost universal condemnation from medical experts, gay-rights organizations, and government officials. Speaking at a news conference in Chile, the cardinal stated, “Many psychologists, many psychiatrists have demonstrated that there… Continue reading Is Homosexuality Connected to Pedophilia?

Gay Parents and Biological Bonds

First published in Between The Lines News on April 15, 2010 Those who argue that same-sex parenting “deprives” a child of its mother or father sometimes ask, “How would you feel if your mother or father were taken away?” My answer to that question is, of course, “I’d feel terrible.” But that fact scarcely settles… Continue reading Gay Parents and Biological Bonds