 Marriage, the ability to marry, to say I do, is a basic civil right. It expresses the right of a person to have the liberty to consent validly. And this can be seen very strikingly in American history through the fact that slaves lacked that very basic liberty of person to say I do with the force that I do has to have. And what happened when slaves were emancipated? When slaves were emancipated, they flocked to get married. It was said by an ex-slave who had also been a Union soldier, the marriage covenant is the foundation of all our rights, meaning that it was the most everyday exhibit of the fact that he was a free person. No further questions, Your Honor. Mr. Cooper, you may cross-examine. In the 19th century, many Americans engaged in informal marriages, correct? That is true. And pregnancy or childbirth was the signal for a couple to consider themselves married, correct? Well, not always, sometimes. Well, let's look at public vows. Your book, which has been admitted, page 31. Page 31, you said? It reads, in part, marriage frequently followed upon a sexual relationship between a man and a woman, proving fruitful rather than proceeding it. Pregnancy or childbirth was the signal for a couple to consider themselves married. You believe that when you wrote these words, didn't you? Well, yes, but as I said, frequently, not always. And you provided a statement to the Vermont legislature when it was considering same-sex marriage? Not to the legislature, to their joint judiciary committee. I see. And when you provided that statement in Vermont, the law that resulted was a compromise between Catholics, gave something to Catholics and other conservative groups and something to the LGBT community, is that correct? It did state, in its first line, marriage is between a man and a woman. And then it went on to grant a civil union arrangement that gave all the rights and benefits to same-sex couples. Yes. Your Honor, we have no further questions. Thank you, Professor.