One more thing about gay marriage and the constitution. It's not a simple Left/Right issue. In addition to the "equal protection" argument supporting gay marriage, there's a good "states' rights" argument against a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Traditional conservatives are hard-pressed to change the constitution and impose the will of the federal government on the states. One conservative commentator whose blog deserves to be read every day on a variety of issues (as I do), Andrew Sullivan, is both a gay Republican and a conservative opposed to a constitutional amendment against gay marriage.