David Blankenhorn and Jonathan Rausch have an intriguing proposal for a cease-fire in one of Amercia’s hottest culture wars:
“Congress would bestow the status of federal civil unions on same-sex marriages and civil unions granted at the state level, thereby conferring upon them most or all of the federal benefits and rights of marriage. But there would be a condition: Washington would recognize only those unions licensed in states with robust religious-conscience exceptions, which provide that religious organizations need not recognize same-sex unions against their will. The federal government would also enact religious-conscience protections of its own.”
Would it work? Probably. Will it ever see the light of day in Congress, and live to survive an onslaught from conservative groups? I’m more skeptical.
