Rauch on Gallagher

I echo all of Jon Rauch's points here about Maggie Gallagher's latest attack on gay couples' right to legally protected relationships. There sometimes is a real clash between liberal anti-discrimination legislation and maximal religious freedom. Given the choice, I'm with maximal freedom for religious groups to discriminate in any way they like as private entities; and I'm generally suspicious of anti-discrimination laws. (Dale Carpenter makes the case for allowing the Catholic hierarchy to discriminate here.) That's why, in Virtually Normal, I opposed laws against anti-gay discrimination in employment; and why I oppose all hate crime laws; and why I firmly support the rights of bigots to express themselves without being restrained or "re-educated" by government. But the marriage argument is still largely a red herring here. Religious freedom is affected primarily by broad anti-discrimination laws, and has been for years. Gallagher wants to give the impression that marriage rights have created this clash. That's untrue, and she knows it.