Gay marriage and the conservative movement

Dale Carpenter has organized a symposium at the South Texas College of Law dedicated to the question, "Is Gay Marriage Conservative?" The symposium will take place February 15, 2008. Dale describes it as "a first-of-its-kind event, devoted entirely to what has become an intramural debate among conservatives about the issue." The speakers, whom Dale properly characterizes as a "strong group of conservative intellectuals and gay-marriage experts," are:

• Gerard V. Bradley, Notre Dame Law School
• Dale Carpenter, University of Minnesota Law School; Visiting Professor, South Texas College of Law
• Jesse H. Choper, University of California Law School, Berkeley
• Teresa Stanton Collett, University of St. Thomas School of Law
• David Frum, American Enterprise Institute
• Charles Murray, American Enterprise Institute
• Robert F. Nagel, University of Colorado Law School
• Jonathan Rauch, The Brookings Institute
• John Yoo, University of California Law School, Berkeley

This symposium, as already noted, will ask whether gay marriage is conservative. I'll venture no opinion on this question. For me, it suffices merely to note that gay marriage deserves legal recognition.