What makes a marriage?

• Position: State marriage laws

Same-sex marriages - not currently legal in any state - are a hot issue in at least half the nation's state legislatures.

The debate arises from a pending Hawaiian court decision that could make same-sex marriages legal in that state. If those marriages are recognized in Hawaii, any state without laws expressly forbidding same-sex unions may have to honor them under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which generally requires states to recognize each others' laws.

In 1991, three couples in Hawaii sued the state, saying the law prohibiting marriage licenses for couples of the same sex violated their rights to privacy and equal protection under the state constitution. The Hawaii Supreme Court concluded that there was no right to same-sex marriages under the constitution's privacy clause, but did find that the couples were denied equal protection under a provision prohibiting discrimination based on gender, unless the state can show a compelling interest for the denial. The case is set for trial in July.

In response to the state high court decision, the Hawaii Legislature passed legislation in 1994 that declared the state's marriage laws were intended to apply only to male-female couples. Legislators amended the law to read that "a valid marriage contract shall be only between a man and a woman." A bill being considered by the Senate this session would put the question on the ballot.

With all this in mind, lawmakers in 27 states have introduced legislation to strengthen or clarify their marriage policies. Nebraska considered a bill that would legalize same-sex marriages, but bills in the other states call for prohibiting them or for refusing to recognize them or both.

By early May, Alaska...