Comments on: Gay Rights, Marriage, and Government Intervention

By: Norman Horn

Norman Horn — Wed, 16 May 2012 15:10:00 +0000

Marriage can also be considered a form of “contract”, though, right? So in the contract, these sorts of issues would be laid out. It would seem to me even if doctrine changed, that shouldn’t change the contract. Moreover, doesn’t the government have this same problem at an even greater scale, since laws generally change more frequently than churches change doctrine?

By: JohnWesley1703

JohnWesley1703 — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:42:00 +0000

As a fellow Christian Libertarian and attorney, I have only one issue with your analysis. Although it would be preferable to limit any State intrusion into marriage, there is always the problem of changing religious doctrine. For example, if a couple is married in a church, their marriage is thus governed by that church’s doctrinal requirements. Curch doctrine later could be altered to specifically provide that regardless of the reason for a dissolution of that relationship, the wife is entitled to no assets and no support for dependent children. If the husband then decides to end the relationship (or, say, the wife chooses to due to infidelity or abuse), absent State intrusion into the relationship the wife and children would be left destitute.

By: Donna Salvini

Donna Salvini — Thu, 10 May 2012 01:05:00 +0000

I am an Athiest and Norman Horn is my hero.

By: Norman Horn

Norman Horn — Fri, 04 May 2012 03:32:00 +0000

Thanks for your encouraging words, Mr. Niles!

By: Norman Horn

Norman Horn — Fri, 04 May 2012 03:31:00 +0000

Thank you so much for your kind words, Mr. Ghedini!

By: David Niles Jr

David Niles Jr — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 19:00:00 +0000

Mr Horn,
great post!! i have struggled to find the balance of my faith & Libertarianism, and have boiled it down to this: freewill. We as beleivers have freewill to follow Christ & His Teachings, and as citizens of this nation, to follow the laws of the land. We do not have a theocracy, we look to the world to come as a perfected state, not the current state which is imperfect. Great post

By: Paulo Ghedini

Paulo Ghedini — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:49:00 +0000

Dear Mr Horn. I am a catholic , and libertarian as well. I
simply could not have written it better than you did. What a PERFECT text Mr
Horn. I have been looking for other defenders of such intersection (religion
and libertarianism) for some time. I have been very saddened by the anti-religion
stances of some of my libertarian peers in Brazil. I just found you on the
internet today, and I already became your fan. I have been writing and debating
in libertarian websites in Brazil (including Institute Von Mises Brasil),
fighting those libertarians who insist in associating libertarianism with a necessarily
atheist view. I have been troubled by that as you imagine. It is a real relief for
me to know that that are people who think like me, and who also fight hard to
prove that the values of Christianity, such as love of neighbour, compassion
and forgiveness are TOTALLY compatible with libertarian beliefs. I would even dare
to say that the Christian beliefs are the piece of puzzle missing in most
libertarian thoughts in order to make Libertarianism and Austrian economics politically
viable and mutually exclusive of misery on earth. Freedom of choice is exactly
what Christ suggested by-the-way, as you well put. Christ didn’t force anyone
to do anything, just invited: the free-will principle. And this just one more
point that brings libertarianism and Christianity together. Socialism, on the
contrary, misses totally the point by trying to FORCE altruism, a diametrically
opposite view of what our religion proposes as a way to spiritual elevation. Charity
and compassion defended by Christians and also by other religions are EXACTLY
the solution for a world that is at the same time free of misery and free of a interventionist
and corrupt big government. Nice to meet you Mr Horn.

By: Homosexuals—The “Negroes” of the 21st Century | fakehustle.com

Homosexuals—The “Negroes” of the 21st Century | fakehustle.com — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 03:48:19 +0000

[...] Someone sent me this interesting essay written by Norman Hall called, “Gay Rights, Marriage, and Government [...]

By: Homosexuals—The 'Negroes' of the 21st Century « LewRockwell.com Blog

Homosexuals—The 'Negroes' of the 21st Century « LewRockwell.com Blog — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 02:05:57 +0000

[...] Andy Thomas sent me this interesting essay written by Norman Hall called, "Gay Rights, Marriage, and Government Intervention." [...]

By: Governments cannot regulate personal relationships | LibertarianChristians.com

Sun, 21 Aug 2011 02:30:46 +0000

[...] issue has been addressed on LCC in a few places, including the FAQ – make sure to check those out. However, let’s take this opportunity to make [...]