...but we were told - by Republicans no less - that we didn’t need a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. So I guess we don’t.
Is there any treaty to this effect?
The day is going to come when the Supreme Court hands down a Roe vs. Wade type judicial fiat stripping states of the authority to “discriminate” based on gender in their marriage laws. This ruling will be followed by an assortment of Doe vs. Bolton type fiats federalizing the issue completely.
When that happens, libertarians will say something like this: “Well, gosh, I really don’t like these rulings...but at least we didn’t clutter up the Constitution with a Federal Marriage Amendment which would have violated states’ rights.”
Fred Thompson would have no problem with this. he is fiercly opposed to a Constitutional amendment that would protect traditional marriage.