The decision to get married belongs to the couple in love, not the state. Many lesbian, gay men and transgender people have children, but are denied the right to raise those children within a marital relationship. Marriage is best understood as a relationship of emotional and financial interdependence between two people in love who make a legal and public commitment to each other. In certain cities and companies, there is limited recognition of relationships between unmarried partners, including same-sex couples. No domestic partnership plan, however, can provide the same responsibilities, benefits, and protections that marriage does.
Domestic partnership is no substitute for civil marriage.