Reading through the thread, I realize that most people posting here can't define what marriage is. Most here seem to be saying they believe marriage is a religious institution, and not a civil institution, a legal entity, or an economic unit.

Just a short thirty years ago, 75% of the adult population in the US was married. In 2004, only 51% of adults are married (and many of those marriages are not first or only marriages). Half of those marriages will end in divorce. That 51% is expected to decline to less than 50% before the next census, which will mean that less than half of the US households will be headed by a married couple. Yet, we are allowing the tyranny of an ideological, fanatical minority, to dictate who should receive and who should be denied basic benefits that married couples enjoy, like health insurance.

Should the government attempt to reverse the declining rate of marriage? Republicans and Democrats obviously thought so when they tripped over one another in 1996 to vote their approval on the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. But the more important question is, why are we allowing religious minorities to undermine our citizenry's civil rights?