Ernie, your comment that, "...gay people, as individuals, do nothing to contribute to the survival of the species.", just smacks of bigotry.

I have a gay friend that is a cancer researcher. He's made several revolutionary discoveries that have lead to highly effective cancer treatments. If you were receiving treatment based on one of his drugs, would you still be saying he did not, "...contribute to the survival of the species."? Just because he doesn't choose to knock up a woman, does not make him less important to society. Hell, we have plenty of inbred idiots in this world popping kids out like pop tarts for the welfare checks, and you're going to say gay people are less important to society? This is but one example of a gay person, making our world a better place, I'm sure there are plenty of others.

Apparently the constitution and the whole, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." passage is stuff that can be given or taken as we see fit. How is it not discrimination based upon gender and/or religion to allow a man and a woman to be given rights to make legal decisions for each other, and some tax advantages, while denying those rights to two individuals of the same sex, willing to live by the same laws? How do you write that into law that marriages of those of different gender are allowed, while same gender marriages are not, without basing the law upon gender, or religious grounds, which are clearly not allowed?