C4SS Feed 44 presents James C. Wilson‘s “Australian Government Should Get Out of the Marriage Business” read by Katrina Haffner and edited by Nick Ford. If heterosexual marriage is such a strong, time-tested institution, subject it to a competitive marketplace and let it continue to thrive. If you’re among the dying breed who seeks to…

It was 1975 when the first same-sex Americans were “permitted” to marry one another. It was Clela Rorex who processed these licenses illegally. This act of sabotage against the state’s marriage monopoly was eventually discovered, and Rorex quit — many calling for her to face legal punishment. She’s said of her activism, “I didn’t want…

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott recently cracked down on cabinet and parliamentary members within his own Liberal Party over their disunity on the same-sex marriage issue. The crackdown came after Australia’s Coalition blocked a conscience vote on same-sex marriage. Nearly half of Abbott’s frontbench were in favor of the conscience vote, placing them in direct…

C4SS Feed 44 presents Cory Massimino‘s “Marriage Equality: Don’t Let the Good Become the Enemy of the Perfect” read by Tony Dreher and edited by Nick Ford. Elizabeth Tate reminds us, “The very act of calling it ‘gay rights’ erases the identity and experiences of everyone else within the queer community (gay is only one…

As Americans celebrated Independence Day, the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries ruled that the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa, A Portland area bakery, owes $135,000 in damages for refusing to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding. This is insanity! There is absolutely no justification for the claimants in this matter to be awarded almost three…

Compared to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, his colleague Clarence Thomas is well regarded by at least some devotees of liberty. This is not totally unjustified. Thomas has demonstrated a familiarity with the philosophy and history of natural law and natural rights, which he (at times) sees rooted in individual persons. For this reason, in…

Venerdì 26 giugno, la corte costituzionale americana ha stabilito, con un voto di cinque contro quattro, che il matrimonio tra persone dello stesso sesso è protetto dalla costituzione. I progressisti amanti dello stato vedono il verdetto come una vittoria per “la nostra democrazia”. Da libertario, anche io sono contento, anche se molte delle mie ragioni…

Conservatives warn that the so-called liberals on the Supreme Court endanger our liberties. This is certainly true, although not exactly as the conservatives mean it. Now it’s time for them to acknowledge that the court’s conservatives do the same. Case in point: Justice Antonin Scalia’s dissent in Obergefell v. Hodges (PDF), the case that declared…

It’s about damn time. The rest of the United States finally caught up to the libertarians on June 26 when the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide.  It only took 43 years but it looks like the authoritarian right is losing influence, as young people grow increasingly skeptical of power structures. Let’s…

On Friday, June 26th, the United States Supreme Court ruled by a 5-4 margin that same-sex marriage is protected by the Constitution.  State-loving progressives are cheering the Supreme Court’s ruling as a victory for “our democracy.” As a libertarian, I too celebrate the decision, although many of my reasons for doing so are far different than those…

I tried to come up with a solid libertarian argument for why the Supreme Court should not have struck down state bans on same-sex marriage (SSM). (By a 5-4 vote, the court this morning declared those bans unconstitutional.) I couldn’t do it.  Not that I was hoping to find such an argument. On the contrary,…

C4SS Feed 44 presents James C. Wilson‘s “Same-Sex Marriage is Not Enough: Separate Marriage and State” read by Mike Godzina and edited by Nick Ford. “US law includes 1,138 statutory provisions in which marital status determines benefits, rights, and privileges. These include provisions on taxation, immigration, inheritance, Social Security and death benefits. Granting such a wide range…

In una intervista del ventidue febbraio, il presidente della corte suprema dell’Alabama Roy Moore ha esposto le ragioni che lo hanno portato a bocciare la possibilità che un giudice di quello stato possa sposare persone dello stesso sesso. “Manca la definizione di famiglia,” ha detto. E poi ha aggiunto, preoccupato, che persone bisessuali potrebbero “sposare…

In a February 22 interview, Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore discussed his reasons for nixing issuance of same-sex marriage licenses by probate judges in the state. “You’re taking any definition of a family away,” said Moore. He also expressed fear that bisexuals might “marry two persons, one of the same sex and one of the opposite…

The US Supreme Court’s announcement on January 16 that it will decide the constitutionality of state-level bans on same-sex marriage has elicited the predictable whining about judicial activism. The Family Research Council’s Tony Perkins pleads “there is nothing in the Constitution that empowers the courts to silence the people and impose a nationwide redefinition of…

Last year the Nevada GOP decided to remove opposition to gay marriage and abortion from its platform. It’s not clear whether this is about votes or reflects genuine sentiment. It’s certainly out of touch with other GOP platforms across the country. This is definitely a good thing though. It also doesn’t go far enough. It’s…