Wedding bell news.

• Author: Gillespie, Nick

Same-sex marriage and social evolution

This September, President Clinton, who has "long opposed governmental recognition of same-gender marriages," signed "The Defense of Marriage Act," legislation designed to prevent gay marriage. The law, which passed Congress by overwhelming majorities in both houses, defines marriage in federal law as the union of a man and a woman and stipulates that, contrary to the Constitution's "full faith and credit" clause, if one state allows gay marriage, other states need not recognize the union. The impetus for this unusual display of federalism is a pending court case in Hawaii that could effectively legalize gay marriage in the Aloha State. The legislation joins 15 state-level laws and two governors' executive orders banning same-sex marriage, all passed within the past year with the similar intention of outlawing something that does not yet exist.

Meanwhile, only a few days before the president signed the federal law, another source of authority in American life effectively recognized gay marriage: IBM announced that it would extend health care and other benefits to the partners of gay and lesbian workers. Same-sex couples who want to apply for benefits will have to sign an affidavit that they are in a long-term, serious relationship and that they share the same household. Unmarried heterosexual couples will not be eligible because, says Big Blue, they can show their commitment through marriage. IBM joins a growing number of companies, including Microsoft, Walt Disney Co., American Express, and Eastman Kodak, in offering such benefits.

The timing of IBM's and the government's actions provides an opportunity to reflect on how social institutions in a relatively free society should best evolve and change over time. Adult consensual relationships - including but not limited to marriage - are a particularly good issue to work with, since they by definition are non-coercive. There is no question of involving someone who doesn't want to be involved: Individuals in a relationship are free to come and leave as they wish; for the most part, employers are not obligated to give benefits to employees, much less their partners; insurers don't have to do business with companies whose policies they disagree with. The potential involvement of children - often cited by traditionalists as a reason to oppose same-sex marriage - is a related but distinct topic (married couples do not always have children; nor are they...