You come from many backgrounds and faith traditions, yet united in this common belief: Marriage is the most fundamental institution of civilization...

For ages, in every culture, human beings have understood that marriage is critical to the well-being of families. And because families pass along values and shape character, marriage is also critical to the health of society. Our policies should aim to strengthen families...

The words of someone supportive of the institution of marriage? Someone who is getting ready to make a move to strengthen families?

No, someone working to ban some marriages, and weaken some families.

Why?

"This national question requires a national solution. And on an issue of such profound importance, that solution should come not from the courts, but from the people of the United States."

Because the courthouse shouldn't have any say in marriage (tell that to Dolly Parton). It's true that "the people" should make most of the decisions regarding marriage... but when one is talking about who is or is not empowered to participate in this "most fundamental institution of civilization", it helps to remember that "the people" is not the same thing as "the majority". To give the power of exclusion to the majority of the people is to silence the minority, and remove that part of "the people" from the decision-making process. And, in this case that means that the very people who will be affected by the decision are the ones who have no part in making it. It happened once before, and the activist judges did the right thing. They gave back to the minorities being affected a voice in their own destiny. And today, as a result, there are many strong families living in America.

I suppose I treat this too seriously. The amendment won't pass. It's just an attempt to manipulate the conservative base prior to an election - gee when did this happen before? But I believe that we must remind people that they are undermining both democracy and families by attempting to institutionalize exclusion, so we can get past this - so that 50 years from now our nation will no longer be mired in this effort, no longer sullied by it. So that 50 years from now, no prominent politician will run on a platform of overturning the marriage rights being considered today, just as no prominent politician will run on a platform of overturning the marriage rights that were before the court in Loving v. Virginia. So that our same-sex neighbors will no longer appear to us as the bogeyman; instead, they will be a source of strength to our communities for which we will all (or most all) be grateful.