And I savor the unparalleled memories of my bride at the altar, lips red, glowing skin, lovely in white; the way her dress twirled around her legs as we danced at the reception, the terrifyingly wonderful thrill of holding her in my arms.
In a time when so many good and lasting things are lost to a soulless modernity, can't we preserve this last tradition? Can't we keep it the way it has always been: husband and wife, bride and groom? `Til death do us part?
And that's where I stumble: `Til death do us part. It's the vow that makes marriage so singular—when we stand before God, our friends and families and make that unyielding commitment to the grave. I've uttered those words twice, and I remember the shame of failing as much as I cherish the wisdom I gained, and the blessings I've received, in succeeding.
Last week I spoke with Ed Gillespie, the Republican National Committee chairman, who shares my religious tradition. He seems like a good man; so do George Bush and John Kerry, all of whom say that marriage should be just for man and woman. Gillespie has dear friends who are gay, but he believes we need to stop the "activists" who would force change upon us, insult our faiths and defame ceremony.
I asked him: If his gay friends cannot marry each other, whom can they marry?
He stammered a bit and said they are free to join in lasting "relationships." But the real answer, the bottom line he could not bring himself to utter, is: "no one."
Gay Americans can marry no one.
So that is the price of preserving our traditions, our dreams of lace and cakes and bells and silly songs of romance: excluding a class of our fellow human beings from the ultimate test of love and its rewards.
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/john-farrell/2008/11/13/allow-gay-marriage.html