out in the mountains Rauch’s Reasons For or against marriage, this is a must-read for all. BY ROBERT W. WOLFF ii (iuv .lIuI'I'ii1ur: Wliv /I /s (fund for (int \_ (iuml fur .S'If(Ilg'I1l.&, uml (irmtl /ur ,«l/ricru (1. Jonathan Rauch addresses each gay inarriagc positive or iicgatite he can imagine from ever} conceivable \‘lL'\\ point. Ranch is a cori'espondent for T/l(' /ll/(lllllt ,'lImiIIil_v_ writer and colum- nist for Mil/miul luurnul. and writer in residence at the Brookings lnstittittoii. He has calmly and ll‘l(.'lll()(llL'illl} illtiininatcd the argu- ment for sanie-sex marriage V-'lll‘l wit and a true sense of Justice. He makes transitions from speaking for one public to the next. and then to his ser_\ personal \ icvs points ullll the ease of a trape/e athlete. This ahilit_v to vtalk in the moccasins of others \'\llll greatly differing vicis- points in addition to stating his per- sonal attittidcs is central to the book's success. llieii. with equal case. he tlcltl_\ is raps tip his ;lfl.’ll- ineiits \\llllL‘(lll\ll'1lCll\l.‘ political &ll)pl'(h'lL‘llL'\ loi ltittire progress on the isstic. Ratich. the \ ice president of the lntlepeiident (Say l’onini and .1 IX‘ nica resitleiit, is entliusiastic about iii:it‘t‘i;t;.'c lor .'iii_voiie who isislies it. He believes iiiarriage is it great civili/ct‘. cspecitilly for males. He says gay nitirriage will be an iiispiratioii for future lesbiaii and gay yotitlis as they might. after sev- eral geiicraiioiis ol marriage for all. be free to dream of growing tip to marry a person they love. liven those who are not currently particu- larly interested in iiiatriiige will find this hook inspiring. lt eiiihraces hope for tlte liittire. l wish I could get every- one in our cotiiitry to read this book. liveryone who has thought about sanie~.scx itiai'i'i;ige will see his or lici' thotiglits in black and white. They will read new itrguiiieiits for and against llicir own views. Rauch iiiakcs tlicsc ai'gtiiiiciits' crtiftily. in detail. with ituance.s' few i‘eztder.s have eiicotiiitered before. Mt)l‘L‘()VL‘l'. Rauch hits the rare ability to bring Gay Marriage: why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America his points on both sides of the debate to logical and emotionally effective conclusions. His conclu- sions support careful. respectful res- olution of the current injustices sur- rounding same-sex marriage: a roadniap for success. Rauch makes an excellent case for marriage in the face of those is ho say that lesbians and gays “cannot" form permanent rela- tionships in suppon of children. He rightly takes no prisoners on this pnlfll. At the same time. he pro- \ ides an especially helpful and well reasoned case for avoiding half\va)' partiicrship approaches: “With social coiiservattses dead set against same-set niarrisige. a xariety of ‘aiiytliing btii niarriagc‘ alternatives are prolileratiiig. such as domestic paniiersliip. tshich lfUlllC(lll_\‘ may tiiiderniiiie stippon for marriage ainong heteroseuiiils. Sonicd:i_\ conscnzitives will look back and \\‘(illtlL‘t‘ why they tiiideriiiined inur- riage in an effort to keep hoiiiose.\u- als out." He believes saine-sex mar- riage will tiltiinzttcly strengtlien het- erosextial iiiarriage. itot tveakcii it. He argues that allovviiig same-sex couples to marry will be a pltis for society as a whole. He per- niits readers to feel his‘ pain about not being able to marry his pamier and ackiiowledges the feelings of tliosc who currently do not tinder- stand how two people of the same gentler could have feelings that would lead to the desire to niarry. According to Raticli. “The new con.sei'vative drive for it coti.sti- tutioiial aiiiciidiiieitt haiiniiig gay ttiarriage isn't just disiiigeiitiotts about its goals and ill—coiiceived as‘ public policy. lt's :1 betrayal of two core C(tl‘ISCl‘\’llllVC pi'iiiciple.s: the liiikttge of love to inairiage and the American commitment to federal- ism." He argues for each of the 50 states taking on the gay marriage question independently. keeping marriage the domain of the states and avoiding federal action. He thinks it is important to allow each state to set its own timetable for addressing the issue. Rauch postu- lates that when the people in states that accept same-sex marriage first learn how little changes after a few _vears of legal gay marriage. people in other states will move toward acceptance of marriage for all. My suggestion: buy this book. If you have enough money. buy two or more. Read the book. Give one to your town's library. If _vour local school has an LGBT Straight alliance. give the advisor a copy. Pass on your copy to someone you know who might be on the fence about gay marriage. Hand one to your parents or aunt and uncle. Our own state representatives and senators .should be at the head of our lists. Don't forget _vour LKS. Senators and Representative. Ask them to read the book and hand it on to someone else. I think if suffi- cient number of Vemiont residents do this. the sanie-sev marriage debate that is stirely coming in our state will be a whole lot more htiinaiie and less heated. lfour fed- eral repre.sentative.s know Jonathan Rauch‘.s arguments. they will be better able to discuss gay marriage with their colleagues in Washington. V Robert William lVn[fi lives and lt'I'lI('.\ in Rmidulpli. A I7l('HlI)(’I‘ of I/II’ R.( ’.l.2." Qll(’('I' Coliiiiziuiiiji" ( ‘mic!’ Imrml rifrli'r¢'('I(ir.\‘. mid of NI!’ /lluiuiluin I’ri'd¢' Media_/iuidr(ii.t— iiig t‘UIllIllfII('('. ll/blfl‘ f.\‘ (I .\‘(‘(‘ll(’I')'. liglililig. pi'ijfni‘riiuIit‘c_/}it'iliI_\'