5.30.2005

Another argument for civil unions

I read Andrew Sullivan today, because Mickey Kaus was making fun of him. Sullivan, as always, is talking about gay marriage, and today points to an interesting case.

A couple of lesbians want to be treated as a married couple for purposes of playing cheaper golf at their country club. Now I'm certainly not in favor of golf, or country clubs, but I'm pretty wary of government intrusion into private clubs. I didn't like the Rotary Club being forced to admit women. Freedom of association should mean just that: freedom of association. But now that judges have invented new laws that require such intrusions, it seems to me that this couple has a pretty legitimate case.

As I've said before, the answer is to separate the religious institution of marriage from the state-sanctioned secular arrangement. Gays deserve equal rights under law, and churches should be free to maintain their own definitions of marriage according to their traditions and beliefs. Call it a civil union, or call it a marriage. The only difference is that the latter will agitate middle America a lot more.

No comments:

Happy Super Tuesday!