Not Such a Queer Idea: Is There a Case for Same Sex Marriages?

Abstract

Gay marriages (as such) are not as yet allowed anywhere but the demand for them is increasing. Most countries take a liberal attitude towards marriage: few obstacles are put in its way. But objections to gay marriages continue to be raised. These objections are refuted and the case for gay marriage is assessed through the prism of various forms of liberalism. The normative argument for allowing gay marriage is shown to be both strong and consistent with many of the values upheld by the opponents of such unions.

Same-sex marriage and the regulation of language

“…Similarly, Freeman takes issue with Posner's 'pragmatic' argument, asserting that 'The question is not one of consequences, but of what is right.' 5 These responses to Posner reflect the fact that the issue is not just a distributional one, but also involves other, perhaps more fundamental, questions: questions of culture, meaning, symbolism, and social equality. These aspects of the issue come to the fore when we consider the other three issues that are prominent in the debate.…”

The 2005 Canadian same-sex marriage debate : a case study examining how the press presented the parliamentary debate on bill C-38

“…There is also a body o f literature that could be described as one that analyzes the normative effects of the debate: on society (Cere, 2004), on families (Farrow, 2004), on children (Somerville, 2004), and on the Canadian Charter o f Rights and Freedoms (Morton, 2004). Freeman's (1999) article could be grouped here, or in the next section that deals with political and political economic literature since he theorized that a normative argument for allowing SSM is consistent with liberalism, even when proponents o f liberalism are opposed to SSM, highlighting one of many paradoxes that accompany the SSM debate (p. 1).…”