Frum: I Was Wrong About Gay Marriage

Conservative blogger David Frum writes for CNN.com that he has changed his mind about same-sex marriage.

I was a strong opponent of same-sex marriage. Fourteen years ago, Andrew Sullivan and I forcefully debated the issue at length online (at a time when online debate was a brand new thing). Yet I find myself strangely untroubled by New York state's vote to authorize same-sex marriage -- a vote that probably signals that most of "blue" states will follow within the next 10 years.

I don't think I'm alone in my reaction either. Most conservatives have reacted with calm -- if not outright approval -- to New York's dramatic decision. Why? The short answer is that the case against same-sex marriage has been tested against reality. The case has not passed its test.

Like other opponents of same-sex marriage, Frum argued that allowing it would de-stabilize traditional marriage. He notes that while family stability (as measured by the rates of divorce and out of wedlock births) has continued to decline, that decline has slowed considerably since same-sex marriage first became legal in some states.

Frum remains one of my favorite writers on the right because he makes a coherent, fact-based case for his positions and is willing to change them when the facts convince him to do so.

--Ballard Burgher