From the mouths of babes: what is "gay" marriage?

From the student paper at SMU, a young writer gets it spot-on (my emphases)

The truth of the matter is that what we have here-to-fore referred to as "same-sex" marriage is no different than any marriage between opposite-sex couples. In both cases, two people come together in love and unity to declare, before God, their unending love for one another. It makes no difference whether it is a man and a woman, two men, or two women. Ultimately, holy matrimony derives its sanctity from the love that both partners share for one another, and not from the genitalia with which they were bestowed.

...by referring to marriages between same-sex couples as either "same-sex" marriages or "gay" marriages, we are subconsciously reinforcing the idea that marriages between gay couples are any different than marriages between straight couples.

Gay men and women across the country are not fighting for "same-sex marriage;" they are fighting for "marriage."

They are not petitioning for something that looks like marriage; they are petitioning for exactly the same "marriage" that we have come to know.

Gay men and women don't require civil unions that are "separate, but equal," to marriage; they require full access to the same civil liberties that every heterosexual person in American is afforded, including, but not limited to, MARRIAGE.

The next time you want to say "gay marriage" or "same-sex marriage," try just using the word "marriage" instead. It's shorter, to the point, and it's nothing less than what gay men and women deserve.