Responses to the Prop 8 Ruling

With California's ban on same sex marriage invalidated by a federal judge's ruling, the question becomes how then shall we respond. Not in the legal sense, but how should those on both sides react in word and deed.

For those who celebrate the ruling as an unalloyed good, I would advise you to pause and reflect on the implications of fundamentally altering a social institution that has served us in good stead for generations. Like I said, I would do that, but I get the sense that there is very little consideration of such implications. Redefining marriage will have far reaching and unforeseen consequences. You may believe that the benefits of extending the notion of marriage to same sex couples outweigh those consequences, but pretending like they don't exist is dealing in bad faith.

And for conservatives, how should we respond? Illy-T offers what he sees as the natural response:

Indeed, you'd think that would be the politically conservative position, where the State...interferes at only the bare administrative minimum in the private and consensual domestic arrangements of individual Americans.

Let me (humbly) disagree and say that this is a response that only a libertarian could love. Conservatives are not crazy to see such an upheaval as an attack on "our little platoons" but frankly I'm skeptical of the value of one more outraged blog post denouncing liberal elite judges, even when the posts are veneered with serious discussions of how findings of fact and conclusions of law are treated differently on appeal.

Instead, how about building up the institution that you fear is being harmed, namely marriage. Talk to your wife, play with your kids. Better yet, talk to your wife about having more kids to play with. Burke meant that the platoons were small relative to society as a whole, he didn't mean you should just have two kids and then get a vasectomy. This is especially troubling if it's done out of a desire for material comfort. Most people who call themselves conservative would agree that serial divorce cheapens marriage, but limiting family size just so all the car seats fit in the sedan and you can afford to go to Disney World every other year may be just as harmful.

Obviously this issue is far from over, but even at this early stage it appears to me that conservatives and defenders of traditional marriage have their work cut out for them. Not in the courtroom mind you, but in their own homes.