Just posting to echo those above mentioning the contactual aspects of marriage and how they're vitally important for those married. I've been married to my same-sex spouse for almost 8 years now. We have stuck together through some rough patches precisely because we're married. It's the easiest thing in the world to depart from a relationship in which those involved are, basically, strangers before the law. Marriage is serious business, business involving FAR more contractually/legally/officially than what one poster above scoffed stereotypically as being about "what goes on in the bedroom." Marriage actually comes to entail just about everything EXCEPT what goes on in the bedroom as couples mature. Marriage is designed to force, if you will, couples to take care of each other; it's an institution that imposes perks, yes, but also burdens so that the "taking care of" part isn't passed on to the State or to any of the rest of society. Marriage is a GOOD THING for those involved and society does have a vested interest in promoting it- gay or straight, the more marriages, the less burden YOU have to take care of my partner.
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