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 14, 2010 When I was a high school sophomore, one of my classmates had the misfortune of popping an erection in the communal shower after gym class. I doubt “Paul” was gay. Most likely, it was a typical teenage case of Mr. Happy having a mind of its own.
The Danger of the Gay Closet 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 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
Is Homosexuality Connected to Pedophilia? 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
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
How to Define Gay Marriage Read More »
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
The Right is Wrong About Gay Marriage Read More »