Perhaps it is the irony of a half-naked man in fairy wings parading the streets of San Francisco claiming he’s just like everyone else. Perhaps, Congress, full of disgruntled men sympathetic to Senator Larry Craig and unable to exercise their public restroom fantasies, exude their anger by passing constitutional amendments barring same-sex couples from marriage. Americans, quite vehemently, are still bickering about what should be done with what President Bush has called “the most fundamental institution of civilization.”

But what exactly do gay people want and why are their opponents so intent on denying it to them? Libertarian journalist and gay-rights proponent, Andrew Sullivan, says he wants the right to marriage, “a lifetime legal commitment between two unrelated, consenting adults to take responsibility for each other (and their children, if any) and to share their lives and home together.” Despite the call for civil rights, marriage has been declared as the “sacred institution” that Bush and his conservative followers so desperately want to “protect” via a constitutional amendment limiting it to a man and a woman. How can a legal institution in a country with a clear division of church and state be sacred? Unless, of course, there are multiple components of marriage—religious, societal, and governmental— and people like the President still have trouble distinguishing them. Once marriage is narrowed to the legal definition with societal implications, one can then better look at the arguments against. However, even after sifting through the name-calling and shaky assertions of societal degradation, there is simply no logical reason why two individuals of the same sex should be denied access to the title of marriage and all encompassing federal and state benefits. Read more…