The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly held that marriage is one of the most fundamental rights that we have as Americans under our Constitution. (Olson 48-54) It is an expression of our desire to create a social partnership, to live and share life's joys and burdens with the person we love, and to form a lasting bond and a social identity. (Olson 48-54) The Supreme Court has said that marriage is a part of the Constitution's protections of liberty, privacy, freedom of association, and spiritual identification. (Olson 48-54) The right to marry helps us to define ourselves and our place in a community. Marriage rights must be extended to gays and lesbians under the law, to make sure that all people receive the human rights that they are entitled to by living in this country. Without them, there can be no true equality under the law. (Olson 48-54)