Marriage is a unique practice, in that it is both a religious sacrament and legal registration controlled by the state. Throughout human history, according to religious tradition and as a matter of natural law, marriage has been tied to potential procreative sexuality, which is a monopoly held by heterosexual couples.

The suggestion that the state has no real interest in marriage is a stunning repudiation of the unique contributions of heterosexual marriage to society, to the state, and to the individual--and particularly to children. The marriage of a man and woman has long been favored because it provides the most favorable setting in which to conceive and raise children. "Child development is skewed, scarred or retarded when a father or mother is absent in the household" (Fein). Children, moreover, are the most numerous (and most innocent) victims of the current cultural disintegration of marriage. Indeed, the impoverishment of children has been shown to be a direct

Society must have distinct definitions to which it turns when faced with conflicts between the desires of its citizens and the interests of its larger community. Heterosexual marriages have been given preferred legal status, moreover, because of the long-recognized, irreplaceable contributions that such marriage makes to the benefit of society. Same-sex unions simply do not make comparable contributions to social order, to community and personal health and welfare, to private and public economy, to social morality, and especially to children. In short, equal status for same-sex couples is not supported by evidence of equal contributions to society.

The prohibition of same-sex marriage does not constitute gender discrimination. Marriage is the oldest equal-rights institution officially recognized in law. By requiring a male and a female for every union, marriage laws send a clear message regarding the equal worth and equal importance of both genders to the most important institution in our legal system. In both substance and symbol, a marriage union composed exclusively of a male and female not only creates a complementary relationship of unique strength an benefit to the spouses themselves, to children, and to society, but it provides a critical object lesson in equality, mutuality, and the value of gender cooperation for the rising generation that unions of two persons of the same gender cannot duplicate.

The rights and privileges of marri

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Approximate Word count = 979
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)