If I hadn't already been supportive of marriage equality (and for the record, I was), the latest tactic by the opponents of gay marriage would have swayed me in that direction.

By implying in their most recent arguments (which sound a little desperate to me) that the only reason people should get marriage is for procreation, they are marginalizing couples like my husband and me (who got married when we were 71 and 62, respectively) in the same way they are marginalizing gay and lesbian couples, and I find that offensive.

Following is typical of their arguments before the Supreme Court a couple of weeks ago:

"What the state cares about is biological reality," John Bursch, a special state attorney, said. The underlying rationale for state marriage laws, he said, is only (my italics) about "binding biological children to their biological mom and dad."

This dismisses not only gay couples, but couples who choose not to or are unable to have children, couples who have adopted children, and of course couples like my husband and me as not worthy of marriage.

Bursch also claimed the state marriage laws are not about adults pledging a lasting commitment to each other or fostering a stable household.

Somehow, it seems to me that, in this day and age, that's exactly what marriage is about. Centuries ago, marriage was more about economic security, particularly for women, producing heirs to thrones and cementing alliances between countries, while today, it's more likely to be about love and emotional commitment.

Gay marriage opponents often argue that our definition of traditional marriage goes back to biblical times, but while I'm not a biblical scholar, I seem to recollect that there were people in the Bible who had more than one wife.

I'm certainly not alone in observing how quickly attitudes toward gay marriage have evolved over the last decade. I know mine have. Ten years ago or so, I thought civil unions which gave couples the same status as married couples were a good idea.

Twenty or 30 years ago, the idea of gay marriage never occurred to me, probably because, like most heterosexuals at the time, I didn't know any gay couples (or thought I didn't).

Today, as nearly all of us know people who are gay or lesbian, many of whom are married or are in a committed relationship, we have become more aware of what it must have been like years ago, when gays had to hide their sexual orientation from everyone, including their families.

Now, for the most part, they don't, and that's good. So why shouldn't two adults who love each other be able to marry, create a stable household and perhaps, form a family. To my mind, that's a conservative value.