IMO, if marriage is the religious institution and pact with god that the right keeps insisting it is, then the state (the whole country) should immediately stop recognizing marriages. it's a simple church and state issue, and the state has absolutely no business certifying religious pacts and offering special benefits to those who join into those religious pacts.


"marriage" should be decided 100% by the church. then churches can decide whether they want to allow gay marriages or not.


the government should then convert all state recognition of "marriage" (and the rights and benefits afforded) to "civil unions" -- so a straight couple married in a church is simply recognized by the government as a civil union. gay couples should then be given the exact same rights.


remove government from the "marriage" business -- it has no right, either way, to recognize marriages as "marriages," only to recognize the civil union of a couple of any gender.


right? right.