Mike,

I agree with Aunty. The Constitution is silent on marriage. That makes it a state's rights issue. However, when a state like CA creates law prohibiting same sex marriage, that seems to violate equal rights and protections or amendment 9 protections. The SCOTUS should vacate any such state law.

It gets back to the singular interest the state has in marriage in the first place: who is financially responsible for any children resulting from uniting a couple? Anything else regarding marriage is none of the state's damn business. The church however, is free to meddle in the marriages of its members as much as it wants or as much as its members allow. Separation of church and state; it's the only alternative that works in the US.

Sg