這篇文章旨在為本專號讀者介紹同婚爭議的一個基本討論。本文首先轉譯改寫美國社群主義的論點，即同性婚姻的平權論證應轉向婚姻目的之討論，作者則提示此一討論必須回溯在地婚姻的歷史發展與現代轉換過程。接著文章指出：同婚的贊成與反對雙方均圍繞著「剩餘認可」的鬥爭，也就是國家承認同婚時也多餘額外地承認同性戀的正當性。一種解決之道則是消除剩餘認可，但是國家不必非要退出婚姻制度不可；制度改良與話語創新有其必要。

This article is meant to be an introduction for the Chinese reader to a widely known discussion in the same-sex marriage controversy. It first utilizes American communitarian argument indicating the shortcomings of the reason that supports same-sex marriage based on equality. If the real issue, as communitarians suggest, is the purpose (function or value) of marriage, the historical development and modern transformation of Chinese marriage should be examined. The article then shows what seems to motivate both sides of the controversy is the struggle for surplus recognition, that is, when the state recognizes the legitimacy of gay marriage, the state additionally recognizes the legitimacy of gayness. A way to minimize the controversy seems to be minimizing the surplus recognition, which can be achieved in other ways than the state backing out the marriage institution; thus, a call for the innovation in both institutional reform and discourse renewal.