He knows full well that bringing gay marriage to one state will bring them to all states- and he's deliberately fudging that point to fool gullible conservatives. The other day David Frum asked him eight very sensible questions about what ought to happen when a gay couple has a marriage which is recognized in one state and not another. Today he responds by simply ignoring the substance of the questions and attacking Frum's position on gay marriage.

The problem is that Sullivan (and other gay marriage proponents) are being deliberately intellectually dishonest in this argument, and their dishonest is being abetted by others.

They favor gay marriage everywhere, every time. After all, if they believe (as Andrew Sullivan clearly does) that opposition to gay marriage is the equivalent of opposition to interracial marriage (and he believes that the Constitution of the United States protects such a practice) then how can he think it would be ok for some states to make gay marriage illegal?

Essentially "let the states decide" is code for "let gay marriage reign". The moment gay marriage is fully secured in one state, it will be used to spread the contagion to every other state in a matter of months and to force its recognition by the Federal Government.

PS: And as for the question of how many of the "benefits of marriage" I'd grant to Mr. Sullivan and his "partner", the answer is simple: zero. The benefits of marriage are designed to protect families (useful families), not sexual partners.