No state or federal legislative body has voted for same-sex marriage, and most have voted against it by large margins. So the prospect that the courts will make it the law of the land on their own raises issues of constitutional law and judicial activism that go beyond the issue of same-sex marriage itself. But what if the courts could be held at bay and elected representatives were to decide the issue in deliberations that, as President Bush has recommended, "match strong convictions with kindness and goodwill and decency"?

Jonathan Rauch’s new book Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America (Times Books, 2004) argues that same-sex marriage, if implemented democratically, would shore up marriage’s status as the gold standard for committed relationships, to the good of all concerned; it is addressed especially to conservatives concerned over the decline of marriage and the effects on the welfare of children. This book forum will feature a presentation by the author, commentary by AEI’s Michael Novak, Charles Murray, and Christopher DeMuth, and a general discussion.