The Negative Externalities of Immorality: The Case of Same-Sex Marriage

Same‐Sex Marriage and Negative Externalities*

“…Marriage is a nonscarce right because the exercise of it is within reach of anyone who chooses to exercise it (barring legal limitations). It also has no cost to another: “The freedom to marry someone of the same sex does not forestall someone else from marrying whomever he or she chooses” (Hatzis, 2006:60).…”

“…Hatzis (2006:58) states that, “according to marriage‐as‐contract theory, family law should recognize and enforce welfare‐enhancing and regulate welfare‐reducing exchanges.” Thus, the only real economic argument that could be used as a basis for the ban of same‐sex marriage is that there are negative externalities associated with same‐sex marriage that reduce overall welfare to the society as a whole. Hatzis (2006:58) explains in the following manner.…”

Judicial Federalism and Representation

“…How might we incorporate the role of externalities and status quo biases into a framework for analyzing judicial federalism and representation? While not modeling the judiciary, a series of recent formal theories by Crémer and Palfrey (1996, 1999, 2000, 2006 provide a useful foundation. Of particular relevance here, Crémer and Palfrey (2000) present a theory that examines the effects of federal mandates-that is, a minimum policy below which no state can go-on voter utility.…”

“…However, as is the case with many hotly contested social issues, the issue of moral externalities has been front and center in the fight over gay marriage. This has been particularly true with respect to opponents of same-sex marriage, many of whose arguments have focused on the deleterious effect that legalization might have on broader societal norms (Hatzis 2006). Allen and Price (2015, 146) summarize these arguments (without necessarily endorsing them) as follows:…”

From soft to hard paternalism and back: the regulation of surrogate motherhood in Greece

“…In one case the request by the couple 25 For similar views in American legal theory see Radin (1987Radin ( , 1996. 26 See Hatzis (2006) for arguments. was rejected because the court decided that the partners did not try hard enough to have their child "the normal way" (Hatzis 2008).…”