What Is Marriage? Man and Woman: A Defense
by Sherif Girgis, Ryan T. Anderson, and Robert P. George
Encounter, 168 pages, $15.99
No argument is more effective in promoting gay marriage than the insistence that its rejection offends our sense of justice and equality, especially as concern for the underprivileged and marginalized lies at the heart of our Judeo-Christian heritage. Many today believe it patently “unfair” and “unjust” to ban an entire group of people from the benefits of marriage merely because they happen to be attracted to people of the same sex.
First, it is argued, restricting marriage to heterosexual couples requires linking marriage to procreation, but many marriages are infertile. So, unless we’re prepared to insist that infertility is an impediment to marriage, it makes no sense to deny gay couples the right to marry. Second, restricting marriage by sex is no less egregious than doing so by race. Since sexual orientation is no less beyond our control than is our skin color, it is entirely legitimate to compare the rejection of gay marriage to racism. No matter the advantages of traditional marriage, at the end of the day, the institution imposes arbitrary discrimination on a minority of the population and therefore is cruel and unjust. . . . Continue Reading »
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