"The fact that I was raised a certain way just isn't a good enough reason to stand in the way of fairness anymore.

"My young daughters are growing up in a different reality than I did. Our family knows many same-sex couples - our neighbors in Connecticut, members of my staff, parents of their schoolmates. Some are now married because the Connecticut Supreme Court and our state legislature have made same-sex marriage legal in our state.

"But to my daughters, these couples are married simply because they love each other and want to build a life together. That's what we've taught them. The things that make those families different from their own pale in comparison to the commitments that bind those couples together.

And, really, that's what marriage should be. It's about rights and responsibilities and, most of all, love."

--Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)