FORCING ‘EM OUT OF THE CLOSET….Virginia Postrel writes today about the policy questions regarding gay rights ? should sodomy be illegal? ? vs. the constitutional question ? should the federal government be allowed to overturn a state law on this issue?
The policy question is also the one to which Andrew Sullivan has primarily addressed his remarks. It’s far more interesting–and, in my view, much easier–than the constitutional question. But it’s the question conservative pundits mostly want to dodge.
I couldn’t agree more. Too often we allow conservatives to retreat into abstract legal arguments instead of forcing them to take a simple stand: in this case, do you think the government should prohibit gay sex or don’t you? Not should it be able to, but should it? Not is it sinful, but should it be illegal?
The result of this fainthearted approach is that instead of exposing Rick Santorum’s ideological kin as flat out supporters of bans on gay sex, a position that is generally unpopular among moderates, we allow them to hide behind technical discussions of federalism and church-state relationships and slippery slopes that don’t exist in real life. So how do we force them ? so to speak ? out of the closet on this? What’s the right issue?
