marriage has existed long before christianity.
The argument to protect marriage can and must be made WITHOUT ANY RELIGIOUS REFERENCE.
it is only the foolish who think religion is really part of this debate.
Two clarifications:
1. Yes, I misspoke - I place the origin of marriage in the Biblical account in Genesis... obviously pre-dating the Christian era. That statement was merely for context. However... you gotta read the rest, because...
2. My argument is that marriage in the religious context
has been co-opted by secular law, and thus
my main point is in agreement with you: we must make the argument to preserve marriage
without bringing religious, historic, or "tradition" considerations to the table. It's the law or nothing. And I suggest that we do this by bringing the "compelling national interest" argument to the table.
Sorry if I wasn't clear on that.