Thedeclineofnearlyuniversalandlife-longmarriagesamongpresumptivelyheterosexualcouplesraisessignificantpolicyquestionsaboutwhetherandhowtorecognizeotherformsofintimateadultrelationships.Shoulddomesticpartnershipsbeavailabletoheterosexualaswellashomosexualcouples？Mustsexualunionsbethebasisfordomesticbenefits，responsibilities，andrights，orshouldthesebeextendedtootherformsofcommittedrelationships？Wouldlegalizingsame-sexmarriageunderminefamilyandsexualdiversityandfurtherdiscriminateagainstsingleadultsandtheirdependents？Advocatesandopponentsofsame-sexmarriagealikeholdvaryingviewsonwhetherallowingsame-sexcouplestowedwilldomoretostrengthenortoweakenmarriageasaninstitution.Inthisregard，itisstrikingthatheterosexualmarriagerateswerealreadycomparativelylowinthefirstnationsthatopenedtheinstitutiontosame-sexcouples，marriageconfersfewmaterialbenefitsinthesesocieties，andtheydonotdiscriminatesignificantlyagainstunmarriedcouples.Inotherwords，forthemostpartithasbeeneasierforsame-sexcouplestoachieveequalaccesstomarriagewheremarriagebearscomparativelylittlesocial，moral，andeconomicweight.