I happened upon this site by accident, but read all of the postings with great interest. If anything can be said about this amendment, it certainly has opened the door for discourse. As someone with definate political, spiritual, and personal opinions, I often find that I am more interested in the debate itself than in the actual issue at hand. Before I debate any issue with someone, I let them know that I expect nothing less than educated, fact-based opinions . . . while everyone is entitled to an opinion, and has the right to express it, they need to be completely educated about what they are saying. I have very little tolerance for people who want to deny the liberties of others in the name of social conservatism. Not one person in favor of the ammendment can offer a single shread of evidence about how our society would benefit, or even how it would be harmed if the ammendment were not passed. Yes, this ammendment is an issue for right-wing, homophobic, realigious zealots. I do not contend that all people who are opposed to same sex marriage are zealots, but I certainly think that is the case with someone who wants to change the Constitution of our State when we so clearly have a separation of church and state granted to us. It surprises me that many educated people, who normally would be proponents of reducing the size of government and its scope in our personal lives, would support such an intrusion into privacy as to erode one of the fundamental cornerstones of our society (privacy, freedom from tyranny, etc.) Discrimination of any group to further the social agenda of another is shameful. This ammendment would serve only to weaken our Constitution, a living document that must survive in an ever changing political climate, never to be used as a tool against a minority. By the way, although I didn't sign in, you can call me Jennifer.