Health Care and the two parties.
Why is gay marriage such a big deal to American party lines? One reason, I suggest, is the fact that married couples in the US recieve over 100 different benefits and rights that unmarried couples do not. Here's a list of the top 100 from WI (LIST).
Having health care is a big deal. Maybe we don't realize it now because we are still under the parent's blanket of care, or maybe our parents don't have health care and we are coasting as students. But the fact is that in 2004, 45.8 million people were without health insurance coverage(1) . Do you know the costs of health care without insurance? Crazy-sad if you think about all the people with illnesses and injuries who can't afford to be fixed.
I'm not saying that the reason conservatives don't want people to be getting fixed, but by deniying marriage rights to those couples who seek it, that is what is happening. Not to mention the 200+ other rights denied to couples who are not a married man and woman.
Along with abortion, it is one thing to say something is morally wrong according to your beliefs, but it is an entirely other thing to deny rights and benefits to people who need them. I just think all people who are broken should be able to get fixed- that seems like a "moral value" to me.
1. Source