The Right to Marry

Gay couples in the United States are fighting for more than civil unions or domestic partnerships. They want the right to marry. And in six states--Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire--same-sex marriage is legal. But the fight continues in Minnesota, New York and the nation's most populous state--California. In California, the State Supreme Court struck down Proposition 22 in May 2008, giving gay couples the "right to marry" only to have that decision overturned with the passage of Proposition 8 in November 2008.

The "right to marry" struggle raises a number of questions. Is marriage a right? Is the same-sex marriage fight a civil rights struggle reminiscent of the 1960s civil rights movement? Does limiting the term "marriage" to one man and one woman deprive same-sex couples of the nomenclature only? Are civil unions or domestic partnerships enough? And finally, there is the question of religion. What role does and should religion play in the legal debate over marriage?

Check out show interviews, Web-exclusive video and blog posts about same-sex marriage, and join the discussion.