Get the media to stop saying same-sex marriage is "banned"!

I'm a moderate on social issues, but what annoys the hell out of me is whenever any news broadcast talks about a "ban on gay marriage." Even Fox News anchors casually talk about "gay marriage bans", because the phrasing has entered our common vernacular. Straight from the idea of a "ban" on gays marrying, you get people complaining about how conservatives want to regulate people's private lives and what they do in their bedrooms. However, nothing is banned! People are free to do whatever they want in their own lives. A ban is a restriction on behavior, and there is no restriction on behavior. Conservatives aren't "controlling people's private lives." The government recognizes a certain relationship as constituting marriage, as it always has. This is formulated around a man and a woman because marriage is primarily designed around the idea that the couple may bear children and so needs some legal protections primarily for the sake of the children. Some people want to expand the definition of marriage to include same-sex relationships because they think its necessary for equality. That's fine, if they wan't to argue that. But referring to a "ban" where a "ban" doesn't exist just inflames the issue and serves partisans on the liberal side. Here's a recent example, from TIME Magazine, discussing a meeting with Rick Santorum: "He suggested those who wanted to change laws prohibiting same-sex marriage faced the burden of showing why that was necessary." http://swampland.time.com/2012/01/06/heated-exchange-exposes-santorums-h... Arrghh. What laws prohibit same-sex marriage? If Newsbusters doesn't address this issue, who will?