BEING FAIR TO THE FAIRNESS ARGUMENT FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE

Abstract

According to the fairness argument, same-sex marriage must be permitted because without it there would not be equal treatment for homosexuals and heterosexuals. In (THINK 36), Piers Benn holds that the argument does eventually deliver this conclusion, but not as readily as intuitively appears. He concludes that some conservative points against same-sex marriage achieve at least a stand-off from the point of view of the argument. I argue that he accords the conservative points much more significance than they actually deserve and misconstrues the metaphysical dimension that is an important part of how the fairness argument operates.