[Daniel]

Yes- I think it does. For me anyway.

There is commitment itself. Can one have that without a pace of paper? Certainly. But this is where things get sticky.

So- one is committed. This means taking on a responsibility. And it is very difficult to execute that responsibility without some vehicle. And right now, marriage is that vehicle.

The trouble- as I see it- is that many believe marriage to be something it isn't.

Barney Frank often says that gay marriage doesn't take away from anyone's marriage. And he is right. Marriage isn't an institution that is in anyway tarnished by same-sex couples getting hitched. It's not a monument in some park that is being defaced.

If anything, marriage is a contract. A vehicle by which two people can take care of one another. Could we design a system whereby we do the same thing but call it something else? Perhaps. But my sense is that this isn't a viable solution. At least not right now. We are stuck with the word for good or ill.