Here is a story that has been hanging around in my laptop for some time now, just bugging me from last week into this one. Don't get me wrong. The story is fine.

But there was something about the question that was included in the lead. It just seemed so -- familiar. So click here to see the rest of the New York Times story:

As the issue of gay marriage finally reached New York State's highest court ... the six judges who heard the passionate arguments from both sides put forth a fundamental question: Has marriage been defined by history, culture and tradition since the dawn of Western civilization, or is it an evolving social institution that should change with the times?

Now, does that question remind you of anything?

Perhaps the work of a sociologist down in Virginia? A certain thesis about the ongoing, well, cultural warfare between a "camp of the orthodox" that embraces transcendent, eternal moral absolutes and a "camp of the progressives" that sees truth as an evolving concept in which human experiences and emotions play a strong, strong role?

I don't know. Maybe it's just me. Or maybe not. I also know that there are smart, secular people who adisagree. But the issue isn't going away. Has anyone else seen a lead as blatant as this one?