Category: Articles

How to Define Gay Marriage

First published at 365gay.com on February 12, 2010 Since my recent column [http://www.365gay.com/news/corvino-the-right-is-wrong-about-gay-marriage/] discussing the “definitional argument” against marriage equality, I’ve learned something unsurprising: There is no single, standard “definitional argument.” There are, rather, various definitional arguments, and part of the problem is pinning down which one our opponents intend. In the hope of advancing… Continue reading How to Define Gay Marriage

Why Conservatives Should Want Gay Parents to Marry

First published at 365gay.com on February 5, 2010 Brian Brown throws around the term “irrational” quite a bit. Brown is the Executive Director of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), an anti-gay-marriage organization (Maggie Gallagher is its president). I first came across his name last summer when the Washington Post profiled him, describing him as… Continue reading Why Conservatives Should Want Gay Parents to Marry

The Right is Wrong About Gay Marriage

First published at 365gay.com on January 29, 2010 Opponents of marriage equality have recently been shifting somewhat away from the “bad for children” argument in favor of what we might call the “definitional” argument: same-sex “marriage” is not really marriage, and thus legalizing it would amount to a kind of lie or counterfeit. As National… Continue reading The Right is Wrong About Gay Marriage

No Asians?

First published at 365gay.com on January 22, 2010 Not long ago a friend approached me for relationship advice. He’s a white guy who was contemplating dating a black guy, and, as he put it, “I thought you could give me some insight since you’re in an interracial relationship.” His query took me by surprise. To… Continue reading No Asians?

Don’t Let the Perverted Analogy Trip Up the Gay Debate

First published at 365gay.com on January 18, 2010 The Gay Moralist is a philosophy professor by day, and today’s column is a logic lesson. Consider the following two exchanges: Jack: I can’t support gay marriage because it violates my religion. Jill: Some people’s religions teach that interracial marriage is wrong. Jack: So, you’re saying that… Continue reading Don’t Let the Perverted Analogy Trip Up the Gay Debate

Fighting Gay Dehumanization

First published at 365gay.com on January 8, 2010 The column that follows is about anal sex. Some friends have urged me against writing it, not because readers find frank discussions of anal sex “icky,” but because the offending comments’ source—Peter LaBarbera—is unworthy of serious attention. In one sense these friends are quite right. But for… Continue reading Fighting Gay Dehumanization

A Story of Comfort and Joy

First published at 365gay.com on December 18, 2009 Allow me to share a favorite holiday story. It was late-November 1989, a year after I first came out. I had been dating a guy named Michael for over a month, which made him (in my mind, at least) my first “real” boyfriend. I was twenty and… Continue reading A Story of Comfort and Joy

The Slippery Slope of Religious Exemptions

First published at 365gay.com on November 22, 2009 This morning, I didn’t feel like getting out of bed. I wasn’t sick; just tired. But I had a full workday scheduled. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared unto me and said, “Behold, today is a sacred day, and you must not work.” Sweet! Okay, maybe… Continue reading The Slippery Slope of Religious Exemptions