Rauch on Gay Marriage

Reason Online fixture Jonathan Rauch's new book on gay marraige has drawn a rave review from the Washington Post. Here's a snippet:

Rauch's impressive book is as enthusiastic an encomium to marriage as anyone, gay or straight, could write. Identifying himself as "a true believer in the special importance and unique qualities of the institution of marriage," he declares that marriage is "the great civilizing institution" and "the most fundamental institution of society." Reasoning that "two people's lifelong commitment. . . to care for each other" defines the essential core of marriage, he concludes that the key social purpose of marriage is "to bond as many people as possible into committed, stable relationships." Indeed, he says, "marriage, like democracy and capitalism, meets the personal and social needs of human beings as nothing else can."

Rauch's columns are archived here. And I'm happy to announce that our next issue, the June one, will carry an excerpt from his book.