It’s off the topic of this thread, but I support federalism. Accordingly, I think homosexual marriage should be left to the states. I also think the federal government has an obligation to recognize marriages that are legally performed in a given state. In other words, it’s not the federal government’s right to tell the states what constitutes a marriage. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t vote for marriage (there’s only one kind of marriage and it ain’t two sodomites!) in my state.
I believe federalism is one of only two ways to ultimately hold this nation together, because the states have widely diverse views. I don’t think I have a right as an Oklahoman to tell Californians how to live. I only wish they treated me with the same respect, and that’s the real problem. We have some people, primarily Democrats, who aren’t content to let people in the states decide these issues for themselves. Democrats think the federal government—or worse, a global government!—should be in charge of everything.
Federalism, of course, means I have to tolerate some states doing things I don’t like and vice versa. It’s called being good neighbors as states and not using the federal government to browbeat each other. That’s the second way to hold the nation together, and it requires an all powerful federal beast that crushes liberty.
It is up to the feds to make it’s own marriage rules for the military, federal employees, and in immigration, and decisions that might involve foreign policy, just as they do for abortion.