then the institution of marriage, not destroy it. They merely want to gain the choices available to heterosexual pairs, and this begins with marriage. Same-sex marriage is not a threat to marriage. It recognizes the deeper moral values in marriage and the honorable extension of those values to all people. Homosexuals believe in marriage, cherish marriage, and want to support marriage. Same-sex couples, like any other heterosexual couple, want to legally commit to the person that they are truly in love with, and want the privilege to do so in front of their families and friends. If the institution of marriage changes to recognize the dignity of gays and lesbians, then it will promote stability, responsibility, and family values among all relationships. Same-sex couples are striving for the same rights that inter-racial couples fought for before the 1967 Loving v. Virginia case, which legalized couples of different races to marry. Marriage also included the idea that a man owned a woman as property. Clearly these traditions were unfair, so they were abandoned. Prohibiting same-sex marriages is just as unfair and unjust. "Marriage is - marriage has always been - variations on a theme. Each era's marriage institutionalizes the sexual bond in a way that makes sense for that society, that economy, that class." Same-sex marriage proclaims that marriage must change shape once again.
             Marriage should change shape because gay couples exhibit the same values and want the same things as straight couples do. Every couple wants to experience marriage for the same reasons: the mental benefit of solidifying and clarifying one's sense of commitment; the symbolic and spiritual importance of the ritual; and the emotional components of a public declaration and celebration. "Gays and lesbians are raised in the same culture as everyone else. When they settle down they want gold bands, they want legal documents, ...