Emily R. Gill - An Argument for Same-Sex Marriage: Religious Freedom, Sexual Freedom, and Public Expressions of Civic Equality

AN ARGUMENT FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

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Religious Freedom, Sexual Freedom, and Public Expressions of Civic Equality

EMILY R. GILL

2012 Georgetown University Press. All rights reserved. No part of
this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any
information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gill, Emily R., 1944
An argument for same-sex marriage : religious freedom, sexual freedom,
and public expressions of civic equality / Emily R. Gill.
pages cm (Religion and politics series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-58901-920-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Same-sex marriageUnited StatesReligious aspects. 2. Same-sex
marriageLaw and legislationUnited States. 3. Religion and politics
United States. 4. Religion and stateUnited States. I. Title.
HQ1034.U5G55 2012
306.848dc23

2011052058

This book is printed on acid-free paper meeting the
requirements of the American National Standard for
Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials.

15 14 13 12 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 First printing

To my family, with the hope that its younger members will see
equal value accorded to all families

James Rountree Temples
Robert Oliver Temples and Carrie Elizabeth Temples
Emily Hannah Temples

This book germinated in my thinking about United States Supreme Court decisions centering on Justice Sandra Day OConnors endorsement test, proposed in Lynch v. Donnelly (465 U.S. 668 [1984]). OConnors endorsement test says that when the government makes or allows policies that seemingly endorse some religious beliefs over others, it effectively classifies some citizens as insiders in the political community and marks others as outsiders. Public policies that include this kind of classification are public expressions of civic inequality. Such expressions have no place in a polity that should stand in the same relationship to all of its citizens.

The institution of civil marriage comprises public policies about who may marry and under what circumstances they may do so. Although the government does not need to allow religious or sexual practices deemed harmful to others, I believe it should not endorse the relationships of straight couples over same-sex couples. Both straight couples and same-sex couples who wish to marry desire to commit publicly to the same type of long-term relationship that civil marriage has upheld as a foundation of society. When the government recognizes the commitments of opposite-sex couples but ignores those of same-sex couples, it classifies same-sex couples as outsiders and regards their relationships as less valuable than those of traditional couples. This book is not a constitutional exegesis, because religion and sexuality cannot be treated in entirely parallel fashion; but I do argue from a jurisprudential viewpoint that the comparison induces us to think in new ways and is therefore instructive.

The government should attempt to be neutral among religions as well as between those who are religious and those who are not. Likewise, some have argued that the government should take a neutral stance between those who defend and those who condemn same-sex relationships. One theme throughout this book is that neutrality is a complex concept and that achieving neutrality is more difficult than it may first appear, in the realms of both religion and sexuality. In the first two chapters I make comparisons between religious belief and sexuality and then address the impossibility of achieving policies that are neutral on all levels. I suggest that both religion and sexuality are goods that may be part of a full human life. The state should provide a framework for exercising these capabilities, one that sometimes requires noninterference but at other times requires positive, empowering action.

I have looked forward to writing this preface to thank many people whose input made this book possible. While developing my arguments, I have written several convention papers, articles, and book chapters on which fellow panelists, reviewers, and editors have made constructive comments. Several of my undergraduate students have collaborated on the research. I thank Dan Hatley, Andromeda McGregor, and Julie Mierzwa for stimulating conversations and intellectual interchange. Andromeda and Julie each copresented a paper with me at different meetings of the Midwest Political Science Association. I most want to thank Gordon Babst. We have served together on several convention panels over the past decade, and at his invitation I served in two capacities on the program of the 2006 Western Political Science Association meeting. Around this time I realized I had enough content to write a book on this topic. Ever since he liked my initial book proposal in 2007, Gordon has been my cheerleader-in-chief, commenting extensively after I wrote each chapter. After finishing the first draft, I revised both to shorten it and also to reflect his suggestions wherever my thinking was muddled or my expression unclear. Gordon then reread the entire manuscript, making a few more suggestions along the way. This project is a better book because of Gordons willingness to participate in its improvement.