Volume 22, Issue 2, 2019
Brook J. Sadler
Pages 257-284
https://doi.org/10.5840/radphilrev201971699
Getting (Un-)Hitched
Marriage and Civil Society
In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges. Although I concur that same-sex couples should have the right to marry if anyone does, I argue that civil marriage is an unjust institution. By examining the claims employed in the majority opinion, I expose the Court¡¯s romanticized, patriarchal view of marriage. I critique four central claims: (1) that marriage is central to individual autonomy and liberty; (2) that civil marriage is uniquely valuable; (3) that marriage ¡°safeguards¡± children and families; and (4) that marriage is fundamental to civil society.