To answer the question of why gay and lesbian couples should have the right to marry, we must first answer the question of why we value the institution of marriage in our society. Today, America needs strong marriages more than ever, but what does this mean? Is this a legal issue, equal rights issue, moral issue or all three? Why even have marriage? There must be some deep rooted reason why evolution of the human species included the institution of marriage between a man and a woman creating a "traditional" nuclear family for you Darwinist. If so, are those evolutionary reasons still valid or are they dogmatic? If it was to facilitate survival of the humans as hunters and gatherers in tribes, are those conditions still present today? Primative tribes today do not recognize gay marriages. Why? Fertility rituals are still performed. Infant mortality rates are very high. These are the conditions are ancient tribal ancestors dealth with but do we today in modern society? If you want to know why there is so much debate about this, look at evolution. The idea of tradtional marriage is embedded in us at an emotional and even genetic level that may no longer be valid. Recently, many states have adopted Gay Marriage. Here are the reasons people say it should not be approved but what do you all think?