(1) The 14th Amendment was not intended to undo the traditional institution of marriage, and is not applicable; and

(2) gay people already have the exact same marriage rights as straight people (to wit, any gay person may marry a person of the opposite sex, just as any straight person can).

The fact that gay people do not wish to marry persons of the opposite sex does not justify redefining the ancient and time-honored custom of reserving marriage to people of opposite sexes. The Natural Law (google that!) plainly shows that marriage is part of the means of defining the relationship BETWEEN the sexes since time immemorial. It has been so in every society, on every continent, in every race, in every religion, in every time period.

I cannot abide the opinion that the Constitution evolves with the times, as it is a document telling us what the limitations on the federal government are, nothing more or less. All “living document” proponents ignore this. Seeking to establish social change based on reading into the text meanings plainly not contemplated by the Founders, is to bastardize its purpose and by so doing imbue the federal government with more and more power. Using the 14th Amendment here is an attempt to evolve the document.

Dick Cheney may be hypocritical in this exchange, but his is certainly matched by many of you on the left, especially when you trot out the Constitution to support things you want to see happen that are not the province of the federal government.