The marriage debate

One of the remarkable features of the current controversy in North America over marriage is that the burden of proof is being placed, not on those who would revise the longstanding definition of this institution, but on those who would maintain it. This runs counter to the way such matters are usually handled in other contexts and has left so-called traditionalists scrambling to come up with adequate reasons for defining marriage as an exclusive sexual union between one man and one woman. Here is a recent contribution to this effort by Sam Schulman: "Gay marriage -- and marriage." Schulman argues that marriage is an institution primarily for the protection and empowerment of women, who will inevitably be hurt by its deconstruction. The debate continues.