Same-Sex Marriage and Equality

Some argue that same-sex marriage is not an equal rights issue because, where same-sex marriage is illegal, heterosexuals and homosexuals have the exact same right to marry—i.e., the right to marry one adult of the opposite sex. I dispute this argument by pointing out that while societies that prohi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ethical theory and moral practice
Main Author: Williams, Reginald (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Springer Science + Business Media B. V 2011
In: Ethical theory and moral practice
Further subjects:B Discrimination
B Same-sex marriage
B Marriage rights
B collective rights
B Equality
B individual rights
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Summary:Some argue that same-sex marriage is not an equal rights issue because, where same-sex marriage is illegal, heterosexuals and homosexuals have the exact same right to marry—i.e., the right to marry one adult of the opposite sex. I dispute this argument by pointing out that while societies that prohibit same-sex marriage equally permit individual heterosexuals and homosexuals to marry one adult of the opposite sex, same-sex couples in such societies are denied an important right that opposite-sex couples enjoy—i.e., the right to marry. I argue that the right to marry is fundamentally, not an individual right, but a couple’s collective right, analogous to assembly rights.
ISSN:1572-8447
Contains:Enthalten in: Ethical theory and moral practice
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s10677-010-9261-8