February 19, 2010 11:18AM 

# Conservatism and Gay Rights 

By [David Boaz](https://www.cato.org/people/david-boaz) 

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We had a spirited forum at Cato on Wednesday on the question “Is There a Place for Gay People in Conservatism and Conservative Politics?” Nick Herbert, who is likely to be part of the British Cabinet in another 100 days, gave a powerful and pathbreaking speech on the Tory Party’s new inclusiveness. In the video below you can find his remarks beginning at about the 3:00 mark, where he says, “I’m delighted to be here at Cato, the guardian of true liberalism.”

Andrew Sullivan (24:00) gave a moving and eloquent defense of a conservatism that has a place for gay people, declaring himself “to the right of Nick, a Thatcherite rather than a ‘One Nation’ Tory.” And Maggie Gallagher (39:15) did an admirable job of presenting her own views to an audience she knew was very skeptical.

Then the fireworks began (51:50). Andrew denounced my question — reflecting many complaints I’d received before the reform — about whether he can really be considered a conservative at this point. “Preposterous,” he declared. There followed sharp exchanges on hate crimes, marriage, adoption, religious liberty, and the state of conservatism today.

Watch it all [here](https://www.cato.org/event.php?eventid=6987):

Or [listen to a podcast](https://www.cato.org/dailypodcast/podcast-archive.php?podcast_id=1094) of Nick Herbert’s speech. Subscribe to Cato’s podcasts on iTunes [here](http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/cato-daily-podcast/id158961219).

##### Related Tags 

[Government and Politics](https://www.cato.org/government-politics), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) 

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