I am tired of hearing how gay marriage threatens family life (studies show only a third of families live the two-parent mom/dad model anymore), or how it has “always been this way” (read your damn Bible and early history, already). I am equally tired of seeing LGBT groups fruitlessly bang their heads against a wall trying to get people with set religious beliefs—arguably the hardest defense to break—to see their opposition is “just not fair.” Will both sides please stop with the opinions and actually focus on facts?

Marriage is a legal institution in which the state and federal government provide tax, property, and Social Security benefits. Several legal rights and protections are guaranteed to spouses under federal law that are not guaranteed to domestic partners, even under the best state laws. Therefore, some individuals have more legal rights than others, and that is unconstitutional in my view. If marriage is a cultural thing, great: Disconnect it from government; we’ll switch to civil unions and it can go back to being a matter of opinion. Until then, it should be a legal benefit for every U.S. citizen. So let’s get to the point, shall we, and stop the pointless bickering.