| |
During her confirmation hearing last week, lesbian lawyer Chai Feldblum was asked by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) about her support of polygamy and why she signed a petition by BeyondMarriage that supports polyamory (multiple sex partners – both male and female – in relationships.
Feldblum denied that she supports polygamy and told Harkin it was a mistake for her to have signed the BeyondMarriage petition.
Feldblum may not support polygamy, but she is a long-time supporter of polyamory, which is even more troublesome. Polygamy is typically one man with many wives. Polyamory is many men and women all engaged in sex acts.
Chai Feldblum outlines her views on traditional marriage, gay marriage and other forms of relationships in her paper, “Gay Is Good: The Moral Case For Marriage Equality And More.”
Feldblum has her doubts about traditional marriage:
“I, for one, am not sure whether marriage is a normatively good institution. I have moved away from the belief that marriage is clearly the best normative way to structure intimate relationships, such that government should be actively supporting this social arrangement above all others.10 I currently believe that marriage is a normatively “good” framework for most people to aspire to (I think), because it serves some very deep and legitimate human needs. But I also believe all of us are harmed, as members of a society seeking a common good, when society fails to acknowledge the wide array of non-marital intimate social structures that we as humans have ingeniously constructed to negotiate and make sense of the world.”
Later in her paper, she describes what she means by “the wide array of non-marital intimate social structures.”
Throughout her paper, she favorably quotes William Eskridge, a gay Yale Law School professor who is a sexual anarchist in his views. Eskridge testified on behalf of ENDA at a House Committee hearing on September 23, 2009. Eskridge’s extremist views, however, were not discussed. Eskridge is on record as supporting polyamory; opposes laws against prostitution, sado-masochism, pornography and some forms of adult-child sex. Eskridge has co-authored legal papers with Nan Hunter, Feldblum’s lesbian partner.
Feldblum Defines New Family Structures and Treats Them Like “Marriage”
Feldblum questions the value of traditional marriage and supports polyamorous relationships that can include both sexual and non-sexual relationships of multiple partners.
Feldblum has coined the term “Non-Sexual Domestic Partners” (NSDPs) to describe a wide range of arrangements that she considers “families.” She wants these NSDPs to be given the same kind of state support currently given to traditional marriages.
Other arrangements could include a daughter caring for her mother; two sisters living together; four older women retiring together.
At the time she wrote her “Gay is Good” paper, she was living with three women in a “non-sexual relationship.” She considered this her family and says that the state should provide “logistical support” to this kind of arrangement.
Currently, it is reported that Feldblum is living with her lesbian partner (in a sexual relationship, we presume), which may or may not be part of this group.
According to Feldblum: “(Indeed, the gay community has pioneered in developing such relationships and non-gay individuals could learn and benefit from developing similar relationships.) My argument is not that such relationships should supplant the appropriate role that the public sector should play in supporting families and retirees. It is simply that the state has an obligation to recognize and support these non-sexual domestic partnerships – these “moral units” of society -- as well as sexual relationships that offer care and support.”
In a footnote to her paper, Feldblum references a paper critical of monogamy and supportive of polyamory. She notes in her footnote that the paper “argues that cultural prescriptions enforcing monogamy obfuscate individual needs and impede self-identification, thereby interfering with real intimacy and satisfaction in love relationships.” The paper is: “Monogamy’s Law: Compulsory Monogamy And Polyamorous Existence” by Elizabeth Emens, New York University, 2004.
Her confirmation to the EEOC is a steppingstone to the U.S. Supreme Court. Once on the EEOC, it will only be a matter of time before Obama picks her for a Supreme Court vacancy, where she will enjoy a lifetime appointment without any accountability for her bizarre views.
A vote on Feldblum in the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) is tentatively scheduled to take place in early December!
TAKE ACTION: Contact your two U.S. Senators immediately and ask that they vote NO on Feldblum’s confirmation to the EEOC. Send an e:mail and/or call (202) 224-3121.
Additional Resources:
EEOC Nominee Ghostwrites New Liberty Into the Constitution Violates the Free Exercise of Religion
EEOC Nominee Chai Feldblum Hides Bizarre Views
