And to answer that, we must ask what larger social purpose marriage serves.
"Romeo and Juliet" (Act 2, Scene 2) Shakespeare says: JULIET: If that thy bent of love be honourable, Thy purpose marriage, send me word tomorrow, By one that I'll procure to come to thee, Where and what time thou wilt perform the rite; And all my fortunes at thy foot I'll lay And follow thee my lord throughout the world.
A prolific author with numerous best sellers under his belt, Dr. Munroe authored 69 books covering topics from transformational leadership, personal development, spiritual growth, purpose, marriage and relationships.
For contemporary political purposes, marriage is often depicted as a timeless and unchanging institution; actually, it has been enormously elastic throughout history and across cultures.
But some gays worry that Mr Obama has not touched bigger issues, like his campaign pledge to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bars openly gay people from serving in the armed forces, and the Defence of Marriage Act, which defines, for federal purposes, marriage as between a man and a woman.
Although procreation is the purpose of marriage, marriage does not morally rehabilitate lust.
Mr. Cooper responded that "it will refocus the purpose of marriage and the definition of marriage away from the raising of children and to the emotional needs and desires of adults, of adult couples".
For Charles Cooper, the lawyer defending Proposition 8, California's gay-marriage ban, the worst moment of the proceedings probably came when Elena Kagan zeroed in on the most consistent and conspicuous weakness in the anti-gay-marriage case, namely that the unchanging purpose of marriage is procreation.
E-mail address GO SIGN UP Share Tweet For Charles Cooper, the lawyer defending Proposition 8, California's gay-marriage ban, the worst moment of the proceedings probably came when Elena Kagan zeroed in on the most consistent and conspicuous weakness in the anti-gay-marriage case, namely that the unchanging purpose of marriage is procreation.
To paraphrase the 17th-century poet John Milton in his treatise supporting divorce, a key purpose of marriage is joyful companionship; a fraught union violates the point.
The court's liberal justices more forcefully attacked the argument by Proposition 8 proponents that the purpose of marriage was for procreation, with Justice Elena Kagan asking at one point whether states could ban marriage between couples older than 55.
