Bridgman - Churches are nothing more than organizations formed by people without the government's involvement.
If you want to start the "Church of Bridgman", who is to stop you ? Heck, If you are any good, I may join ! ...
You say "governments perform most of the marriages, and essentially all same sex marriages" ... What you are saying here is you approve of the government controlling behavior. The government has no business deciding WHO should get married.
As for government's control of marriage, I understand I am bigtime in the minority here, because it sounds like I am opposing gay marriage. I am not.
I am opposed to a system which rewards societal behavior. As someone who has been married for 16 years, I have some questions that answers to would be fascinating.
1. Why should only married people get to leave an estate to someone tax free ?
2. Why should only married people get a more expensive benefits package from a corporation than do singles ?
3. Why should married people get a lower tax rate than do single people ?
4. Why should only married people get the benefit of Social Security benefits, for which the taxpayer pays, for moneys his or her spouse has accrued, when that spouse dies ?
Gay marriage government approval establishes even more firmly than before that:
Government can decide who may or may not marry. Think about it - in a different political climate, if government can "approve" gay marriage in 2005, in 2015, they could outlaw it. It was none of their damn business in the first place. Get rid of all the artificial and unfair benefits of "government marriage", and marriage would be what it should, a commitment between two people, gay or straight.
