Hadley Arkes

About the author: Hadley Arkes is the Ney Professor of Jurisprudence at Amherst College in Massachusetts and a contributing editor of the National Review. He was a consultant in the litigation over gay rights in Cincinnati.

Recent court cases at the state level threaten to open the door to the legalization of same-sex marriage throughout America. However, marriage is defined by nature as the sexual coupling of a man and a woman for the purpose of conceiving children. Legalizing gay marriage would separate marriage from its foundation in nature and would thereby remove the basis for banning other forms of marriage, such as incestuous or polygamous unions.

Editor's note: Hadley Arks testified for the Defense of Marriage Act before the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution on May 15, 1996. The...