Marriage is at once a deeply personal commitment to another human being and a highly public celebration of the ideals of mutuality, companionship, intimacy, fidelity, and family. Because it fulfils yearnings for security, safe haven, and connection that express our common humanity, civil marriage is an esteemed institution, and the decision whether and whom to marry is among life’s momentous acts of self-definition.
Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall, writing for the majority, Goodridge v. Dept. Public Health, Mass. Supreme Judicial Court (November 18, 2003)
“The odd thing about the opposition to gay marriage is that if opponents were not so blinded by bigotry and fear, they would see that gay men and lesbians provide the last, best argument for marriage: love and commitment. Gay marriage will not and cannot weaken the institution of marriage. A heterosexual is not somehow less married because a homosexual has tied the knot. On the contrary, the institution will be strengthened, bolstered by the very people who for conservatives represent everything loathsome about modernity. Gays are not attacking marriage. They want to practice it.”
— Richard Cohen, “This May Be Good for Marriage,” in the Washington Post, November 20, 2003