Martha Nussbaum
The latest issue of Dissent features an article by Martha Nussbaum on same-sex marriage and constitutional law. For those of you who are familiar with Nussbaum’s work, specifically Women and Human Development, know that marriage falls within the ambit of “central human functional capabilities.” On affiliation, she writes, “Being able to live with and towards other people, to recognize and show concern for other human beings, to engage in various forms of social interaction….this entails, at minimum, protections against discrimination on the basis of race, sex, sexual orientation, caste, ethnicity, or national origin.”
For her, the public debate about same-sex marriage isn’t one about the content of marriage (friendship, intimacy, etc.), civil aspects of marriage (that is, whether same-sex couples should enjoy the same civil rights as heterosexual couples), nor is it about the religious aspects of marriage. She notes that religions are internally divided on the status of same-sex couples. She believes, rather, that the public debate is about “the expressive aspects of marriage.” After discussing the “Golden Age of marriage’ she moves onto what we’re seeing in today’s sociopolitical environment, including the panic same-sex marriage seems to excite. She concludes by saying that whatever states choose to do about same-sex marriage it “will be done on a basis of equality. Government cannot exclude any group of citizens from the civil benefits or the expressive dignities of marriage without a compelling public interest.”
One extra note. The online version of the article includes responses from several commentators.
