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 […]
The Gay Parenting Difference – and Why it Doesn’t Matter to Marriage Read More »
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
My Daddy’s Name is ‘Donor’ Read More »
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
Is it Appropriate to Ask if a Potential Justice is Gay? Read More »
First published at 365gay.com on May 7, 2010 So, we have a new line to add to the file labeled “Seriously?!?”—alongside Reverend Ted Haggard’s “I bought the meth but didn’t use it,” ex-gay leader John Paulk’s “I had to use the bathroom and had no idea it was a gay bar,” Rep. Eric Massa’s “I’m
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
The Message of Marriage Read More »
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
Conversations with Maggie Gallagher Read More »
First published at 365gay.com on April 6, 2010 They don’t drive Subarus, wear comfortable shoes, or listen to folk music. But are the female pair-bonding albatross discussed in this Sunday’s New York Times Magazine lesbians? http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/04/magazine/04animals-t.html?ref=magazine Despite its provocative title, the essay “Can Animals Be Gay?” is one of the more thoughtful and nuanced treatments
Can Animals be Gay? Read More »
First published at 365gay.com on March 12, 2010 The border guard didn’t even look up when she asked the question: “Citizenship?” “U.S.” “And why are you in Canada?” I paused. She looked up. I was going to Canada to give a lecture, which would be easy enough to say. But then there would be the
Coming Out at the Border Read More »
First published at 365gay.com on February 26, 2010 Okay—so I promise that this is my last column for a while on the definition of marriage. Four out of five in a row is enough. http://www.365gay.com/archive/?id=15&logo=t But I’ve learned a lot from writing these, especially because of comments from various marriage-equality opponents. Three points stick out.
What’s Love Got to Do With It? Read More »
First published at 365gay.com on February 19, 2010 An opponent writes, “What’s YOUR definition of marriage? If you’re going to use a word, you need a definition of the word.” I doubt that. After all, most English speakers can competently use the word “yellow,” but ask them to define the term (without merely pointing to