Second, it is argued tautologically that marriage by definition is between a man and a woman. That is the question, and a circular answer does not advance the analysis. In fact, marriage is not, and has not been, limited to persons of different sexes. Not only are there historical examples, but there are a number of states in this country (including Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and California before the passage of Proposition 8) and a number of foreign nations (including countries as Catholic as Spain, as different as Sweden and South Africa, and as near as Canada) that have embraced gay and lesbian marriage.