Homosexuality is as old as history - assuming, of course, you take the scholarly view that true history began with Herodotus, and not the conservative Christian view that history began with Adam and Eve. But that's the problem. The differences of opinion in this dispute lie so deep that it's almost as if same-sex marriage is a secondary issue to these beliefs.

1. LEARN SOME BACKGROUND ON THE ISSUE

Most people's response to the question, "Should gays and lesbians be allowed to marry in the same way that straight couples do?" is visceral and automatic. If you believe that God created the universe some six-thousand years ago, and laid down His absolute moral law in the pages of the Holy Bible, then your parties are probably pretty boring, and you regard marriage by definition as a sacred union between a man and a woman for the purpose of procreation. If, on the other hand, you believe the universe is billions of years old, that human beings have an extremely intimate genetic relationship with chimpanzees, and that moral laws are constructed socially rather than supernaturally, you probably smoked dope in college, and you don't much care what marriage is or who does it.

In fact, there are a lot of people who really aren't much interested. This debate doesn't inspire the sort of blood-soaked radicalism that you get in the fight over abortion, for example. The combatants in the same-sex marriage controversy are, in the near corner (in rainbow-striped boxers), gay and lesbian activists, and, in the far corner (mouthing a quick prayer), Christian right-wingers, with each side drawing its support from its respective end of the political spectrum. Toss in a few lawyers fascinated by the constitutional issues, and you have the makings of a lukewarm crowd at best. This issue is, however, a significant and interesting one, since it forms part of the continuing evolution of mainstream values in Western society. A lot has changed.

The variety of sexual mores through the centuries is amazing. The founders of Western civilization, the ancient Greeks, who gave us Plato and Aristotle and who were every bit as sophisticated and self-aware as we BMW-driving, Deepak-Chopra-reading moderns, sometimes practiced man-boy homosexuality. (We have no record of when they finally got it right.) In the Marche district of medieval France, it's said that a bride-to-be on her way to the church traditionally had sex with every man she met on the way. The Mormons, like Jacob and King Solomon, had a thing for polygamy. The age of consent in the nineteenth century was usually around ten years old. And interracial marriage remained illegal in thirteen U.S. states until 1967. Even by 1990, only ten states had passed laws saying a man can't rape his own wife.

Same-sex marriage is not now legal in any jurisdiction in the United States, nor in any country in the world for that matter. But it's closer to becoming a reality than ever before. Various cities and states have enacted "domestic partner" laws, which, while not conferring the official status of marriage on a same-sex couple, provide them with a few of the same benefits. Furthermore, the Vermont Supreme Court recently declared that "the state is constitutionally required to extend to same-sex couples the common benefits and protections that flow from marriage under Vermont law." This landmark case (Baker v. State of Vermont, 1999) will compel state legislators to provide same-sex couples wishing to unite under the law with all of the benefits of marriage, if not the actual title of "marriage." Under the "full faith and credit" clause of the Constitution, a same-sex couple "certified" in Vermont might challenge the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which gives states the right to ignore such unions licensed elsewhere.

The battle continues, and the future is uncertain. Should gay couples have the right to be legally married? Here's what the two sides have to say.