Advice to the Republican Party: Embrace Gay Marriage

As a Democrat, I am delighted that Barack Obama is now president-elect. I do not envy the magnitude of the challenges that he has to tackle, but he is a smart guy who taught constitutional law at University of Chicago. If our problems can be solved through the application of brain power, then he is certainly a good man for the job.

As a citizen, however, I rely on the functioning of a strong, loyal opposition to make government better. In the not too distant past, the Republicans showed us what comes of one party rule: the memory makes me shudder. And while I would hope that the Democrats would not muck it up as badly, overly concentrated power never seems to produce particular good outcomes. America, simply cannot handle such a predictably repeat of history right now.

Thus, a reconstituted Republican party built around some fresh thinking is in everyone's best interest. To get the ball rolling, I would like to suggest that you consider rallying behind same-sex marriage. I know that sounds crazy at first, but give me a moment to explain. Gay marriage fits perfectly with your libertarian ideals. What two people do in the privacy of their bedroom should be no one's business but their own, so long as they consenting, law-abiding adults. There is no reasons why the private, lawful actions of such people should be used to deny them the civic pleasures and responsibilities of wedlock. Embrace this, and you are will have the love and affection of every true libertarian in America.

No doubt, you are worried that this sort of move will alienate your traditional religious conservative base. To that, I can only say that it is time to move on. The sad reality for you is that the white American evangelical movement has already abandon you in consequential numbers; their strength has peaked and is being replaced by evangelical African American and Latino voters. These are the people who got Proposition 8 passed in California, and yet they voted for Obama. No matter how aligned your values might seem to be, they are not going to be voting for your candidates anytime soon.

Besides, you do not have give up on white evangelicals. By making same-sex marriage the law of the land, you will effectively obliterate most of what actually scares heterosexuals about homosexuality, which the gay subculture. Quite simply, there is nothing more mainstream than marriage; and with nothing to rebel against, gays and lesbians can join will embrace the mini-van. That's not to say the Dr. Dobson's of the world will ever be thrilled, but he and his colleagues still abortion, divorce, profanity, pornography, evolution and a whole host of other issues to keep them occupied.

To make this simple policy step, all you need to do is embrace a few simple facts. One, no one chooses to be homosexual; gays and lesbians are born with their sexual orientation in place. It makes no more sense to punish them for that fact than to deny someone voting rights based on skin color or gender. Two, same-sex marriage does not threaten the overall institution of marriage or the family unit in any way. Children reared by gay parents grow up to be just like those of heterosexual parents. (The AMA actually did a study of adopted children to prove this.) And judging from the experience of The Netherlands, same-sex and heterosexual couples have the same divorce rate. In the US, that's 45%. Third, this is a genuine civil rights issue in the spirit of the XIV Amendment. Truly, nothing could be more in the spirit of the party of Lincoln than righting a meaningful constitutional wrong.

Same-sex marriage is good for everyone. Republicans benefit by proving that they can still be bold. Gays and lesbians achieve the full measure of their civil rights. The country benefits from the presence of a coherent opposition party that keeps the Democrats on their toes. Now that you know what to do, "Just Do It."

Comments

[ron ray]

The idea of a 'libertarian' republican party die with Newt's revolution. without Palin and her religious right followers, McCain would have finished 20 point behind.

besides, even Obama and Clinton didn't dare support gay marriage.

No, if you want it legalized let's just put the whole GOP kit and kaboodle to rest. join me in supporting a Palin/Bachman ticket in 2012.

[GravitonX]

The Republicans about as likely to embrace gay marriage as I am to embrace a snarling mountain lion.

[Michael B. Laskoff - Huffpost Blogger]

Were you to hug a mountain lion, I would be extraordinarily impressed with the magnitude of your accomplishment. In just the same way, I would be impressed with the Republicans. Sure, it's unconventional, but if conventional means McCain/Palin, then the Grand Old Party really does need to shake things up.

[HuffPoFan]

Giving a refurbished Republican Party a libertarian flavor minus the Religious Right and the neocons would provide a refreshing change, Republicans would then be a viable alternative to the Democrats. The Demos would have to re-exmine all the groups they've pulled into their "Big Tent", there are some very fragile coalitions because they don't support each others interests e.g., Blacks and gay marriage. Many of us would probably at least consider changing our party affiliations from Democratic to Independent (non-affiliated)/. Republican's would have to do a lot of house cleaning to ever get me to register as a Republican.

[Michael B. Laskoff - Huffpost Blogger]

Precisely. A Republican Party unencumbered by a cacophony of droning religious zealots would be free to be libertarian. And if there is one place that the state does not belong, it is the bedroom.

[Leeloo08]

I agree with you, the most conservative thing to do is to let gay people get married, at the end, married or not, they are still living together, but if they are married it would bring more stability to a society already plagued by open relationships. I really do not see the big deal ignorant people make about gay marriage, I think it is their dirty minds getting the worst of them, I suppose they see a gay couple and they immediately imagine what are they doing in the privacy of their bedrooms and they get outraged by their own imaginations! When in reality like any hetero relationship gay relationships are not based in sex, they are ultimately based in companionship. People thinking they have the "moral" authority to forbid their fellow humans of the same rights they receive need to reread the last words of the Pledge of Allegiance: ...With Liberty and Justice for all.

[Michael B. Laskoff - Huffpost Blogger]

Just imagine a world in which government had to focus less on distraction and more on governing. As a straight man, I do not spend much if any time dwelling on the acts of gay intimacy. Of course, I also steer clear of summoning images of my parents inflagrante. The fact that I prefer not to think about my parents in the bedroom does not mean that they should be denied the right to marriage.