In reference to the debate as to whether gay marriage will cause the decline of society ("Sanctity of marriage needs to be preserved," July 6): My fiancé Heather Whidden and I are planning our wedding for this next July. In reality, we will have a civil union, which will get us 10 of the 1,049 rights married heterosexual couples are allowed in the United States. We want to be married by the state, not by God, for legal benefits, such as the right to see each other in the hospital, the right to live together in a nursing home and the right to inherit each other's things without family or state interference.

We are getting married because we love each other deeply and are committed to a lifelong partnership, unlike 50 percent of all heterosexual marriages that end in divorce. Mark my words: If our marriage had the ability to ruin the lives of all anti-gay bigots, I would rejoice.