Articles - John Corvino

How to Define Gay Marriage

Articles, Public Philosophy / johncorvino

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 […]

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Why Conservatives Should Want Gay Parents to Marry

Articles, Public Philosophy / johncorvino

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

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The Right is Wrong About Gay Marriage

Articles, Public Philosophy / johncorvino

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

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No Asians?

Articles, Public Philosophy / johncorvino

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

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

Articles, Public Philosophy / johncorvino

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

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Fighting Gay Dehumanization

Articles, Public Philosophy / johncorvino

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

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A Story of Comfort and Joy

Articles, Public Philosophy / johncorvino

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

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Kudos to Bruce; Shame on Mitch

Articles, Public Philosophy / johncorvino

First published at Between the Lines News on December 17, 2009 Today I heard two bits of news that reminded me of how far we’ve come and how far we have yet to go. First, Bruce Springsteen has come out in favor of marriage equality in New Jersey. Yes, THAT Bruce Springsteen, or as many

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What Bigotry Is

Articles, Public Philosophy / johncorvino

First published at 365gay.com on December 4, 2009 “We all know what bigotry is,” a friend said to me recently. But do we? I mean, most of us have experienced it, and we can point to clear historical examples. But can we define it, articulating what those examples all have in common? Or is it

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The Slippery Slope of Religious Exemptions

Articles, Public Philosophy / johncorvino

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

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