The Manhattan Declaration facebook page promoted an article by Rod Dreher titled “Does Faith = Hate?” that contained the usual “winsome” anti-gay arguments. Here is the comment I left, if your interested.

Rod,

The “you called me a bigot” framing, along with the usual “the nanny state took away my tax exemption” argument doesn’t make for a very strong case. People who feel victimized by cultural changes will agree with you, but you won’t win over people who don’t.

You need to address the argument made by BreakPoint’s John Stonestreet in his article Oh, Sweet Lorraine” where he describes lifelong marriage, death and sorrow.

“What a great reminder that marriage isn’t all about wedding dresses or even about being young and in love. It’s about having and holding, “from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part”—just like Fred and Lorraine.”

That’s the argument that the Supreme Court considered when they ruled in favor of Edie Windsor’s life and marriage. You have to explain why DOMA should have denied her the tax benefits she deserved, why denial was the right thing to do. You have to explain how society was “protected” by treating her lifelong love and devotion unequally.