By Salvatore J. Cordileone, First Things - The union of husband and wife is unique: Together they make a baby, and their marriage is the best way to ensure that that baby grows up with both mother and father. Marriage is a good thing. Society needs this institution... Until a few years ago, virtually every culture in existence recognized the unique stake society has in affirming these unions. Even cultures that condoned sexual relations outside the bond of marriage—including between people of the same sex—never confused these relations with marriage.