Public Policy, Same-Sex Marriage, and Exemptions for Matters of Conscience

Abstract:     
This symposium article addresses the wisdom of affording an exemption to those who have religious objections to promoting same-sex unions. The article discusses some of the difficulties in limiting the reach of such exemptions both with respect to the “objected to” groups to whom it might apply and with respect to the kinds of activities that might fall within the exemption. The article explains some of the dangers implicated in affording such an exemption - if the policy is triggered only with respect to members of the LGBT community, then it would enforce second-class citizenship, and if the policy is not so limited, then it might lead to increased balkanization in our country. The article concludes that an exemption would be problematic for both constitutional and public policy reasons.

Keywords: religious exemption, marriage, balkanization, second-class citizenship

JEL Classification: J12, J71, K10

Accepted Paper Series