Originally Posted by CosmicTang

The government has a huge stake in the institution of marriage. Taxes, property, wills, benefits, estates, children, etc. It's often called the cornerstone of civilization.

The constitution does NOT have specific language about what constitutes a marriage because up until very recently most people took it for granted that it was between a man and woman. That's what the fight is about. One side wants equal rights, the other wants to have the constitution changed to specifically define marriage as a man/woman union.