Wolfgang

Wolfson presents his argument by starting with an extensive and precise definition of marriage. This is most certainly a fair and sensible definition of marriage; one could argue that his definition is slanted, but the abstract concept of marriage is the basis of his argument, so he defines it as he sees it. This (possibly) gives the reader a warrant—that what he gives are the actual parameters for marriage—from which Wolfson will state his claims from. The very title of his piece is What is Marriage, so this first part is obviously the most important part of this excerpt. He fully explains the concept, even going as far as to distinguish it from similar concepts (such as love) and distance it from common misconceptions and stereotypes. Without clearly defining marriage, his entire argument would be useless. Towards the end, he gives numerous examples of loving couples that cannot become legally wed, and refers back to his original warrant many times. Reflecting on his legal expertise, Wolfson uses Safely v. Turner as the legal precedent under which he argues that denying marriage between homosexuals is completely absurd, both morally and legally. Wolfson has efficiently woven his rhetoric by using the threads of logic and emotion, and has visibly imprinted it with his legal credibility.