while gay marriage was legal in some states, and homosexual couples took advantage of it, did you notice society going to shit because of it? i sure as hell havent.... i really dont think it would make any difference....
as far as "traditional family values" wasnt interracial marriages considered against those values at one point (and im sure in some states it still is)? im sure many people still frown upon it, but i dont think it has made our country any worse....
i am a firm believer that homosexuality falls more into the nature part of the nature vs. nurture argument (i am not saying that some do not fall in the other category, but i did a report on homosexuality for a theology class about sex and sexuality, and most research i did was on studies showing that homosexuality is,in most cases, in someones inborn nature... plus many homosexuals knew when they were children that something was different about them before hitting puberty....), so should we start denying those born with physical or mental problems that arent part of the "norm" marriage also, because they are "different"... just like segregation many years ago, we denied rights to people who were born "different" from us and treated them as though they were not humans... laws in the country were changed, and society did not go down hill... look how many successful and powerful african americans are in our country because laws had been changed that discriminated against them..... and many people argued they didnt want to see what the country would be like (or as was stated above "it will start this country down a path i really dont want to see") if they were granted the same rights as everyone else....
the way i see it, the same color blood pumps through everyones veins, we are all human, and just because someone is considered not part of the "norm" i do not believe they should be denied important american rights......