Gays demand marriage

Andrew Sullivan applauds. It's a matter of civil rights to civil rites. But I'm reminded of the point made by the Massachussetts court that marriage is a legal benefit that could not be denied by law, and how odd it was. What benefits?

Laws regarding marriage have evolved in order to enforce the duties and obligations involved. Duties of support. Liability for alienation of affections. Annulment for failure to consummate. Legitimacy and illegitimacy. Most of those have been abandoned, as personal whim has been allowed to displace liabilities.

So what is it that gays expect to receive from legal wedlock?

I wonder how long it will be before gay couples start claiming that "We don't need a piece of paper to tell us we love each other!"