Marriage Has Traditionally Been Reserved for Relationships Between a Man and a Woman 1

 This is a perfectly valid religious argument, but sectarian "tradition" also validates banning mixed race relationships, denying women the vote and permitting slavery.

Although some people are just plain bigotted, I suspect much of the problem here has to do with the word "marriage". In my opinion, the state should get out of the marriage business altogether and leave it to religious organizations to decide for themselves which unions to bless and which to condemn.

Instead of becoming involved with enforcing religious dogma, the state should simply provide equal rights to all adult couples who wish to be considered domestic partners, regardless of traditional bias based on race, gender, etc...

 

UPDATE:

Couples of the same gender have been getting married since time immemorial, and God loves them.

The real question here is whether or not the state has the constitutional right to deny same-gender married couples the same legal rights offered to opposite sex partners.