Where Does the Devaluation of Marriage Actually Occur?
Silver assumes that the devaluing effects of gay marriage stop at the border of whichever state has voted to allow gay marriage, but this is short-sighted. The decision to allow gay marriage flicked a switch in traditionalists’ minds automatically devaluing the currency of marriage regardless of where that devaluation occurred. To a conservative in Mississippi, gay marriage in Massachusetts devalues the whole institution regardless of the laws of the state in which the person lives. Mississippians would likely be more affected by gay marriage than people in Massachusetts because of their more rigid feelings about marriage in the first place. So, if anyone was going to be affected by gay marriage, it would be traditionalists (who more often happen to live in anti gay marriage states) rather than liberals (who more often happen to live in pro gay marriage states). 2. “Marital Plasticity” I’d like to create a new term similar to “erotic plasticity” which I previously used to show that hom
