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The Constitution Doesn’t Settle the Marriage Debate

From Web Exclusives

A key question, perhaps the key question, this Court is being called on to address is whether the Constitution of the United States chooses between competing moral understandings of the nature, value, and social purposes of marriage, thus settling the question of how marriage is to be defined. On reflection, I believe your honor will see that it does not. Rather, the Constitution leaves the matter, as it leaves most matters of substantive law where choices between competing moral understandings must be made, for resolution in the forums of democratic deliberation and decision-making, including, in the case of federal law, the Congress of the United States… . Continue Reading »

Ben Carson’s Academic Heresy

From First Thoughts

No, not  that  Commencement speaker controversy.  That  Commencement speaker controversy I understand. It’s relatively simple: The left-liberals who run the show at Georgetown have found a way to signal to the world that the nation’s oldest Catholic, and most famous . . . . Continue Reading »

All American Muslim: An Open Letter

From Web Exclusives

Dear Mr. Caton, As pro-life and pro-family Christians, we support and applaud the purposes of the Florida Family Association (FFA) as set forth in your organization’s mission statement: to “educate people on what they can do to defend, protect and promote traditional, biblical values.” We are writing now, however, in a spirit of respect and brotherhood, to urge you prayerfully to reconsider your position on the question of the television show All American Muslim on The Learning Channel (TLC)… . Continue Reading »

God and Gettysburg

From the Aug/Sept 2010 Print Edition

The Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address, and the Constitution of the United States of America—those were the three texts in the blue pamphlet I found on the table in front of me as I took my seat at a conference at Princeton. On the cover was the logo of the American . . . . Continue Reading »

Making Business Moral

From the October 2008 Print Edition

Business is a calling, even a vocation. It is, to be sure, a way of making a living, sometimes a very good living indeed, but it is also a way of serving. In these dimensions it is like law, medicine, and the other learned professions. And the great schools of business are like the great law and . . . . Continue Reading »

Law and Moral Purpose

From the January 2008 Print Edition

The obligations and purposes of law and government are to protect public health, safety, and morals, and to advance the general welfare—including, preeminently, protecting people’s fundamental rights and basic liberties. At first blush, this classic formulation (or combination of classic . . . . Continue Reading »

An Unrequited Letter to Anne Rice

From First Thoughts

Dear Ms. Rice: I am a professor of the philosophy of law at Princeton, and someone who enjoyed your fine book Out of Egypt. I have read your endorsement of Senator Clinton and your reasoning as to why you support her despite your pro-life convictions. I am a former Democrat who left the party . . . . Continue Reading »