“Marriage is a vital social institution. The exclusive commitment of two individuals to each other nurtures love and mutual support; it brings stability to our society.

For those who choose to marry and for their children, marriage provides an abundance of legal, financial, and social obligations....Without question, civil marriage enhances the welfare of the community. It is a social institution of the highest importance...

Marriage also bestows enormous private and social obligations on those who choose to marry. Civil marriage is at once a deeply personal commitment to another human being and a highly public celebration of their ideals of mutuality, companionship, intimacy, fidelity, and family. Because it fulfills yearnings for security, safe haven, and connection that express our common humanity, civil marriage is an esteemed institution and the decision whether and whom to marry is among life’s momentous acts of self-definition.”

— Supreme Court Chief Justice Margaret Marshall