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If we look at marriage as something different from the union of one man and one woman, we essentially change the societal equation —we reject the rationale for marriage altogether, turning it into just one more alternative lifestyle, one more partnership option, one more contract. This falsely concedes that marriage and married couples do not make a unique contribution to the human community. Marriage is essential to the continuation of the human race and to the dignity, stability, peace, and prosperity of the family and society. Any attempt to redefine marriage in a way that includes same-sex relationships should be viewed as an assault on these inherent characteristics and an assault on the common good.

Increasingly, many elected leaders and other opinion makers have placed an exaggerated emphasis on individual preferences and conveniences and, to the detriment of society, have elevated these personal preferences to the level of rights and entitlements. Thus, the taking of innocent human life is regularly touted as the “right” of choice and, thus, the termination of a life considered no longer useful is frequently characterized as an exercise of the “right to die.” Ours is a pluralistic society in which the Church is but one voice. We cannot force others to abide our teachings, but we have every right to proclaim these teachings in the marketplace of ideas and the forums of public opinion and public policy making. As we do so, we must not be intimidated by those who would wrongly characterize our defense of marriage or of the common good as mean-spirited, narrow-minded, or intolerant.
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One-man and one-woman marriage does not discriminate against any group of individuals. Marriage is available to every citizen subject to the same basic requirements: Partners in marriage must have attained the age of majority; they cannot be relatives of the first degree; neither of them can already be married; and they must be a man and a woman. Anyone who demands the right to marry outside of these requirements is demanding not equal rights, but additional rights.
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