Anonymous using yahoo writes
Dear Dov:
Why are you such a supporter of gay marriage? You should read the liberal case against gay marriage it is on Zman Biur's site...
Thanks anonymous. I am awfully familiar with Zman Biur's site, and I've read that article. (It is here.) I'm more convinced by Andrew Sullivan's conservative case for gay marriage; truth be told, this article (it dates to 1989) has done more to inform my thinking on the subject than any other.
[Begin lecture]
Now, for the specifics of my view: I am not in favor of gay "marriage." The word marriage can be reserved for straight couples, if that makes you happy. I only think, as Sullivan says, that committed homosexual couples should get the same legal advantages society offers homosexuals. And not just because of fairness. I'm speaking from self-interest here, too. Yes, homosexuality is forbidden by the Torah, but it does not serve our interests as Jews to let a secular state enforce halacha. Our interests (as well as our rights) are best protected when the state maintains a strict nuetrality on matters of morality, when there is no victim.
Radical uncertainty about religion, on the part of the state, is much better than its alternative. A government that takes for itself the power to determine theological truths is dangerous to us, as history has proven many times. On the other hand, there is nothing to fear - and never has been anything to fear - from two gays in a committed relationship. If they are hurting anyone, they are only hurting themselves.
[End lecture.]
