BARR ON FMA: Jonathan Rauch

Reading what conservatives had to say about Bob Barr's repudiation of the Federal Marriage Amendment, I was struck by James Q. Wilson's characteristically astute comment.

If conservatives were smart, the amendment they'd propose would just say: "(1) Nothing in this Constitution requires any state or the federal government to recognize anything except a union of one man and one woman as a marriage; and (2) no state need recognize any marriage performed in another state."

This would let states go their own ways. It would solve what conservatives say is the main problem, which is national imposition of same-sex marriage by an overweening Supreme Court. I think it would be quite easy to pass and would even garner some gay support (from me, for example).

Instead, the current Federal Marriage Amendment is targeted not just at gay marriage and overweening judges but at state legislatures and their traditional power to set marriage and family policy. It will be divisive and conroversial and will spark a national culture war. It will focus the issue as "conservatives against gays and federalism" instead of "Americans unite against imperial judiciary."


posted by maggie at 3:19 PM | link

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home