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The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage
Newsweek ^ | January 09, 2010 | Ted Olsen

Posted on 08/19/2010 6:18:04 AM PDT by throwback

Together with my good friend and occasional courtroom adversary David Boies, I am attempting to persuade a federal court to invalidate California's Proposition 8—the voter-approved measure that overturned California's constitutional right to marry a person of the same sex.

My involvement in this case has generated a certain degree of consternation among conservatives. How could a politically active, lifelong Republican, a veteran of the Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush administrations, challenge the "traditional" definition of marriage and press for an "activist" interpretation of the Constitution to create another "new" constitutional right?

My answer to this seeming conundrum rests on a lifetime of exposure to persons of different backgrounds, histories, viewpoints, and intrinsic characteristics, and on my rejection of what I see as superficially appealing but ultimately false perceptions about our Constitution and its protection of equality and fundamental rights.

Many of my fellow conservatives have an almost knee-jerk hostility toward gay marriage. This does not make sense, because same-sex unions promote the values conservatives prize. Marriage is one of the basic building blocks of our neighborhoods and our nation. At its best, it is a stable bond between two individuals who work to create a loving household and a social and economic partnership. We encourage couples to marry because the commitments they make to one another provide benefits not only to themselves but also to their families and communities. Marriage requires thinking beyond one's own needs. It transforms two individuals into a union based on shared aspirations, and in doing so establishes a formal investment in the well-being of society. The fact that individuals who happen to be gay want to share in this vital social institution is evidence that conservative ideals enjoy widespread acceptance. Conservatives should celebrate this, rather than lament it.

(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: boies; homosexualagenda; nosuchthing; olsen; omg; prop8; tedolson; victorkilo; vk; zot; zuluoscartango
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To: DBeers

Thanks for explaining about the word “heterosexual”. I am highly uneducated...especially in scientific terminology!


381 posted on 08/19/2010 4:01:23 PM PDT by little jeremiah
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To: DBeers

Thanks!


382 posted on 08/19/2010 4:03:21 PM PDT by DJ MacWoW (If Bam is the answer, the question was stupid.)
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To: DJ MacWoW
Thanks!

I enjoy the discussion as it helps to refine arguments -sharpen the axe.

One thing I always keep in mind when posting is the lurkers -the passive readers. As well, those that have been hood winked by the left. I actually post for them -giving them the other side --more than to 'win' any specific topic argument. I would say not all those that disagree are trolls -some are just lost...

383 posted on 08/19/2010 4:11:54 PM PDT by DBeers (†)
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To: DBeers

One poster on here hit all the homosexual talking points. Sometimes my brain just doesn’t kick in because I am shocked to see agenda talking points posted on FR.


384 posted on 08/19/2010 4:15:57 PM PDT by DJ MacWoW (If Bam is the answer, the question was stupid.)
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To: An.American.Expatriate
Secularly, we are charged with providing an example - it is however, WRONG for us to legislate what we otherwise can not achieve through our witness.

Wrong. Human government, with all its imperfections and shortcomings, is designed to be a restraining force against evil. God made it that way, and the Founders of this free republic understood that perfectly.

385 posted on 08/19/2010 4:20:17 PM PDT by EternalVigilance (Obama's conscience went on vacation years ago...and never came back.)
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To: EternalVigilance; An.American.Expatriate

See my post 369 above, which supports your statement. Expat of course does not answer me. That is the standard method for deceitful discourse. Ignore what cannot be refuted or proved wrong.


386 posted on 08/19/2010 4:30:01 PM PDT by little jeremiah
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To: little jeremiah

Those are excellent quotes. Thank you so much for providing them!


387 posted on 08/19/2010 4:33:18 PM PDT by EternalVigilance (Obama's conscience went on vacation years ago...and never came back.)
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To: little jeremiah

http://www.aipnews.com/talk/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=16317


388 posted on 08/19/2010 4:37:32 PM PDT by EternalVigilance (Obama's conscience went on vacation years ago...and never came back.)
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To: little jeremiah

Tweaking my tagline...


389 posted on 08/19/2010 4:40:59 PM PDT by EternalVigilance (Obama's conscience went on vacation long ago & never came back. If only his body would do the same..)
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To: little jeremiah

Wait, I just thought of a new one...


390 posted on 08/19/2010 4:46:00 PM PDT by EternalVigilance (Strip the layers off a Libertarian and you find a hollow core, a God-shaped void of his own creation)
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To: little jeremiah

You forgot to add calling names or intentionally changing the meaning of a word to fit whatever he wants it to mean. Sort of like the gays do....


391 posted on 08/19/2010 4:52:12 PM PDT by Brytani (There Is No (D) in November! Go Allen!!! www.allenwestforcongress.com)
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To: prot; Darksheare; 50mm
Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

newbie prot is no longer...

392 posted on 08/19/2010 5:08:57 PM PDT by vox_freedom (America is being tested as never before in its history. May God help us.)
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To: vox_freedom; prot; 50mm

Must have been something I said.
*gets nervous*


393 posted on 08/19/2010 5:11:38 PM PDT by Darksheare (I shook hands with Sheryl Crow and all I got was Typhus and a single sheet of toilet paper.)
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To: Darksheare
it was that chair you pulled up. hehehe

Image Hosted by ImageShack.us

394 posted on 08/19/2010 5:15:02 PM PDT by vox_freedom (America is being tested as never before in its history. May God help us.)
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To: vox_freedom

Hunh.. I was wondering about that chair.


395 posted on 08/19/2010 5:17:36 PM PDT by Darksheare (I shook hands with Sheryl Crow and all I got was Typhus and a single sheet of toilet paper.)
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To: EternalVigilance

My pleasure!


396 posted on 08/19/2010 5:50:01 PM PDT by little jeremiah
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To: EternalVigilance

(Blush...not a great poster, a small yapping chihuahua who tries to remember the words of her betters!)


397 posted on 08/19/2010 5:51:25 PM PDT by little jeremiah
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To: Brytani

There were a couple on that recent long thread about this same topic.

Trying to discuss rationally with them is like trying to arm wrestle with a greased snake.


398 posted on 08/19/2010 5:52:37 PM PDT by little jeremiah
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To: little jeremiah

As far as I’m concerned, anyone who sticks to moral principle and doesn’t compromise is GREAT.


399 posted on 08/19/2010 5:54:06 PM PDT by EternalVigilance (Strip the layers off a Libertarian and you find a hollow core, a God-shaped void of his own creation)
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To: vox_freedom; Darksheare

ROTFLOL!

You have a wicked sense of humor. And Darks!

He probably had to get off in time to take his evening medication anyway; the attendants were likely looking for him.


400 posted on 08/19/2010 5:54:07 PM PDT by little jeremiah
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