The Institute for American Values, founded in 1987, built a solid social conservative reputation until June, 2012, when its president, David Blankenhorn, droopped his opposition to gay marriage. Rusty Reno, editor and successor of Father John Neuhaus of First Things magazine, was invited to debate Blankenhorn on March 25. See the debate here.

Blankenhorn says he changed his mind for two main reasons: first, because of fairness- that its is an injustice to deprive homosexuals access to marriage; and second, because he hopes to enlist pro-gay-marriage figures like Paul Singer, a GOP donor, to support measures that would help the institution of marriage.

Reno, on the video, said he sees homosexual marriage as an exclamation point to the sexual revolution and the subjectivity underlying it. Plus he doubts that homosexual activists truly want the strictures that would strengthen marriage. Ending no-fault divorce, for example. “I’ll trade an end to no-fault divorce for gay marriage.”

To see the YouTube of the debate, click here.

For those less interested in public policy and more in the moral arguments, see the October 5 debate on same-sex marriage by John Corvino and John-Mark Miravalle