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Brendan Lauterborn
Professor Theis
English 104
October 3, 2017
The Conservative Argument for Same-sex Marriage
The Conservative argument for gay marriage is almost unheard of. Theodore Olsen is the author of a column called “The Conservative Case for Gay Marriage”. He worked for Reagan and Bush. Olsen has a very strong legal background as he has argued fifty-eight times before the supreme court. Olsen is in fact a conservative himself and is making an argument for gay marriage. Olsen argues that gay marriage should be one of the things that conservatives should support.
Conservatives base their beliefs off the constitution. Olsen’s first main point is that making same-sex marriage illegal is going against the belief that everyone is equal. According to Olsen, legalizing same-sex marriage would, “represent the culmination of our nation’s commitment to equal rights” (Olsen 76). He knows that conservatives follow the constitution and by denying their right to marry is in fact going against the guaranteed right that nobody is given more rights than the other. The next point Olsen makes is that those who are against same-sex marriage due to traditions are wrong. He says that, “simply because something has always been done a certain way does not mean that it must always remain that way” (Olsen 77). He believes
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that if this was the case then we would still have segregated schools. Olsen suggests that each and every day we are becoming more tolerant and accepting in general. Thus, implying that those who are opposed to same-sex marriage need to move on from their traditions and old school ways. The next thing Olsen does to strengthen his argument is by argu...
