I support allowing gay couples to marry because of - not in spite of - my values. And many of those values are the same ones deeply held by those who do not believe in gay marriage.

When I talk about the importance of the institution of marriage I think of the commitment and the significance of standing in front of those closest to you and promising fidelity to your partner 'til death do you part.'

So far 44 States or 88 percent of the States have enacted laws providing that marriage shall consist of a union between a man and a woman. Only 75 percent of the States are required to approve a constitutional amendment.

Marriage cannot be severed from its cultural religious and natural roots without weakening the good influence of society.

Marriage encourages the men and women who together create life to unite in a bond for the protection of children.

But whether a couple is a man and a woman has everything to do with the meaning of marriage.

If we change the definition of marriage to be more inclusive then it is logical to argue that we should broaden the definition so that won't exclude anyone.

Marriage is sacred and protected and has nothing to do with violating our civil rights.

American couples have gone to such lengths to avoid the interference of in-laws that they have to pay marriage counselors to interfere between them.

Marriage is about the most expensive way for the average man to get laundry done.

I think that as with marriage you just know when it's time to have kids.

In a sacred ground like marriage you find yourself out of it at certain times for reasons unknown that can be destructive. There could be a demon that kind of comes out and overtakes you.

No person connected with me by blood or marriage will be appointed to office.

Marriage is an institution and that's where a couple finish up.

There is a big misconception about arranged marriage. Yes it can mean that you meet someone and then have to marry them but this was my mother saying 'I'm going to introduce you to so-and-so - If you don't like them fair enough.'

I am fairly classless because it is very difficult to class someone who comes from a mixed marriage.

My parents had an arranged marriage as did so many other people when I was growing up. My father came and had a life in the United States one way and my mother had a different one and I was very aware of those things. I continue to wonder about it and I will continue to write about it.

I don't know why but the older I get the more interested I get in my parents' marriage. And it's interesting to be married yourself too because there is an inevitable comparison.

The Southern slave would obey God in respect to marriage and also to the reading and studying of His word. But this as we have seen is forbidden him.

I honestly believe you can never tell if a relationship is going to last. In my own marriage which is going on 14 years I don't think of it as 'I'm going to be with this person forever.' Instead I think of more like 'I'll probably be with this person for the next six weeks. Then I'll re-evaluate.'

I guess because the shows were activist in their own way - the marriage of my public activism and my career activism you know - people understand me very well. They also understand there's a very strong bipartisan part in all of this.

I never thought I'd spend all my life with Gary. I suppose I was quite cynical about marriage. But with Jude I knew right from the beginning: there was an electricity I'd never felt before. It was so easy we talked for hours. It was a relief really.

I think the institute of marriage is a noble thing. The idea of a partner for life is incredibly romantic. But now we're living to 100. A hundred years ago people were dying at age 37. Til death do us part was a much different deal.

I went nearly 30 years without being able to really seriously entertain marriage or a family. In fact the word 'marriage' would actually give me a shake when it was brought up.