by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas

About the author: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a national organization that fights to safeguard Americans' civil rights. The following viewpoint was written by the Texas chapter of the ACLU.

Civil marriage is the primary institution in our society for recognizing our most intimate, committed relationships. It is also the device our society uses to identify our partners for a range of rights and responsibilities—everything from retirement programs to hospital visitations.

Until 1967, many states prohibited interracial marriages, claiming these unions were a deviation from the "natural order." In that year, the Supreme Court struck down these bans, decreeing they deprived people of their "fundamental right to marry." Currently, lesbian and gay men across the country are fighting for the freedom to...