Originally Posted by kane

There are several states that have passed laws legalizing gay marriage therefore, in those states a marriage can between a man and a woman or same sex partners.

This is the definition of the word marriage according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary:
a (1) : the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (2) : the state of being united to a person of the same sex in a relationship like that of a traditional marriage <same-sex marriage>