Princeton Principles


The Princeton Principles is a policy paper made up of Ten Principles on Marriage and the Public Good. It was released in May 2006 as the culmination of discussions among scholars that began at a 2004 meeting in Princeton, New Jersey in the United States. The finished policy paper and the initial meeting were sponsored by the Witherspoon Institute. McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence Robert P. George of Princeton University gave a copy of the Princeton Principles to George W. Bush at a meeting. The chair of the drafting committee, Political Science Professor James R. Stoner, Jr. of Louisiana State University remarked, "The better arguments are on our side but they haven't been made, or at least made with rigor or given a hearing in the media." Senator Sam Brownback made reference to the Princeton Principles on the floor of the Senate in his remarks on the Federal Marriage Amendment of 2006, which failed to pass.

The Ten Principles

The 10 principles that summarize the public value of marriage and why society should endorse and support the institution: