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Monogamania: Then and Now

Over at the Amercian Scene, Conor Friedersdorf penned a post challenging Rod Dreher on the idea that allowing same-sex couples to marry represents a “radical change”. I liked the post itself and, in fact, thought that the comments that followed were pretty interesting reading and really added to the original ideas posted by Conor. One comment that particularly caught my eye was Joe Carter’s weighing in on the issue with an argument that is standard fare for him on this topic,

It’s a radical change even from your own definition, which includes “and commit to do so monogamously.” As has been understood for decades, the homosexual (at least gay male) definition of monogamy does not entail sexual exclusivity. That this fact is dismissed or swept under the rug is not surprising since it would make the cause of SSM even more difficult to achieve. But it’s been well established and used to be the justifying reason why gays weren’t interested in marriage.

If this is an important component of your definition then you need to ask what happens when the majority of gay men refuse to include this in their own definition of “marriage.”

Despite the fact that I disagree with Joe wholeheartedly on this issue, I respect him a great deal and consider Joe to be an opponent of marriage equality who is worth engaging insofar as doing so generally leaves me feeling like I’ve learned a bit more and understand the topic at hand a bit better. As mentioned, I’ve seen Joe make the above argument on numerous different occasions and I don’t doubt that he has data to back up his assertions (Joe, in my experience, is a responsible writer in that way). But, I must admit, I myself have never sought out such data, so last night I decided to do so.

What I found has some bearing, I believe, on the veracity of Joe’s argument. [Read more →]

November 9, 2009   69 Comments

A Conservative Cult?

Joe Carter responds to my post on Hayek and Health Care and owns it like Johnny Cash doing Nine Inch Nails.  [Read more →]

October 2, 2009   7 Comments

Of Chickens and Eggs: Policing, Community, and Gates-Gate

I had the privilege of chatting with Joe Carter and John Schwenkler on their respective takes (linked to by their names) on the arrest of Henry Louis Gates Jr., the state and role of policing in America, and its corresponding relationship to communities everywhere. It goes without saying that both Joe and John are sharp guys, so the conversation was pretty engaging (my bad joke at the end not withstanding).

Check out the audio after the jump. [Read more →]

August 9, 2009   86 Comments