Dan Morrow: Marriage is a religious institution, a "sacrament" for Christians. Some religious communities ban gay marriage; some don't.

The deeper meaning of religious "marriage" is a purely a matter of faith, and there are great disagreements on what constitutes a "valid" or "appropriate" marriage among all the great religions.

The state, on the other hand, is the guarantor of legal rights and the overseer of legal responsibilities, such as inheritance and child custody. It is duty-bound to define and guarantee related rights and responsibilities from all its citizens.

The state should get out of the "marriage" business entirely, leaving things "sacramental" to the church. It should, however, get into the "civil union" business more vigorously, for both gay and straight couples, guaranteeing rights for those who live up to the responsibilities they accept upon entering such a "union."

This liberal thus agrees with John Kerry . . . and Dick Cheney.

Mark Tate: I agree marriage is a religious institution, a sacrament of the church, not only for Christians but for many people of faith. However the state has gotten into the marriage business. And with this action the state provides economic incentives for marriage and the guarantor of legal rights and responsibilities, like inheritance and child custody.

Marriages should of course be defined by the individual states. Defined by the laws of the state and represented by the duly elected officials in the states. These officials put in place by the voters and doing the will of those very same voters. Traditional Marriage has been recognized as a union between a man and a woman for thousands of years. The reason we are talking about a Constitutional Ban is because activist Judges in other states are trying to change state laws and then trying to impose them on other states.