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Description

What's the Harm? is an interdisciplinary collection of perspectives on the question of harm-whether legalizing same-sex marriage will cause harm to society, and whether the denial of same-sex marriage causes harm to society. This clarifying and illuminating book explores the societal, familial, individual, and jurisprudential harms of the legalization or prohibition of same-sex marriage. The contributors wrestle with the "what's the harm" question from a variety of academic and professional perspectives, emphasizing the significance and impact of legalizing same-sex marriage for law, government, family relations, and child welfare. What's the Harm? is a valuable resource of diverse insights, arguments, and information that contributes to a deeper understanding of what may be the defining issue of the first decade of the twenty-first century.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Acknowledgements
Chapter 2 "What's The Harm?" And Why It Matters
Part 3 PART I: DOES LEGALIZING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE HARM FAMILIES AND CHILDREARING?
Chapter 4 1: Conjugal Marriage Fosters Healthy Human and Societal Development
Chapter 5 2: The Alleged Harms of Recognizing Same-Sex Marriage
Chapter 6 3: "Who's My Daddy?" How the Legalization of Same-Sex Partnerships Would Further the Rise of Ambiguous Fatherhood in America
Chapter 7 4: Unintended Consequences: The Flaws in "It Doesn't Affect Anyone But Us" Argument in Favor of Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage
Chapter 8 5: What's the Harm to Women and Children? A Prospective Analysis
Chapter 9 6: Same-Sex Marriage and the Rights of the Child
Part 10 PART II: DOES LEGALIZING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE HARM RESPONSIBLE SEXUAL BEHAVIOR AND PROCREATION?
Chapter 11 7: The Principles of Justice in Procreative Affiliations
Chapter 12 8: Dwelling Among Us
Chapter 13 9: Meaning, Morality, and Sexual Attraction: Questioning the Reductive and Deterministic Assumptions of Biologism and Social Constructionism
Chapter 14 10: Sexual Virtue, Sexual Vice, and the Requirements of the Good Society: Lessons from Ancient Rome
Part 15 PART III:DOES LEGALIZING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE HARM THE RELATIONSHIP AND MEANING OF MARRIAGE?
Chapter 16 11: The Morality of Marriage and the Transformative Power of Inclusion
Chapter 17 12: The Case for Treating Same-Sex Marriage As A Human Right and the Harm of Denying Human Dignity
Chapter 18 13: Equality or Ideology? Same-Sex Unions in Scandinavia
Chapter 19 14: Same-Sex Marriage As Verbacide: Reaffirming the Linguistic and Cultural Heritage that Once Made "Marriage" a Vibrant Word of Substance and Hope
Part 20 PART IV:DOES LEGALIZING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE HARM BASIC HUMAN FREEDOMS AND INSTITUTIONS?
Chapter 21 15: The Erosion of Marriage: A Pyrrhic Victory?
Chapter 22 16: The Unconservative Harms of Conservative Opposition to Gay Marriage
Chapter 23 17: Or for Poorer? How Same-Sex Marriage Threatens Religious Liberty
Chapter 24 18: Same-Sex Marriage and Public School Curricula: Reflections on Preserving the Rights of Parents to Direct the Education of their Children
Chapter 25 19: Redefinition of Marriage and the Rule of Law

Product details

Published Aug 22 2008
Format Paperback
Edition 1st
Extent 406
ISBN 9780761843160
Imprint University Press of America
Dimensions 232 x 153 mm
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Anthology Editor

Lynn D. Wardle

Contributor

Martha Bailey

Contributor

A Dean Byrd

Contributor

Allan Carlson

Contributor

Dale Carpenter

Contributor

Louis DeSerres

Contributor

Edwin Gantt

Contributor

Charles J. Russo

Charles J. Russo is the Joseph Panzer Chair in Edu…

Contributor

Roger Severino

Contributor

Mark Strasser

Contributor

Seana Sugrue

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