You don't have to believe in same sex marriage. Mind your own business. Look after your own marriage. You don't have the right to dictate to others.
^ Exactly which is why marriage in terms of specifying "social relations of the partners" should be kept out of govt
When people form an LLP or a contract to Cosign on a car loan or student loan, those people can be any relation or not at all related. As long as they agree to legal liability and to share financial responsibility by the terms and conditions.
The equivalent in this case would be to allow "civil unions" or "domestic partnerships" that don't specify or dictate what the social relationship is between the parties to the contract. That would be neutral.
However if either side of the LGBT debate started Legislating that only "couples in a personal Relationship" can share rent or mortgage on a house or agree to pay for college for a student, then we'd get into this mess of which couples count, do heterosexual or homosexual couples count equally as couples eligible for partnership contracts?
Just keep it neutral and this removes either issue.
And the second issue is not everyone agrees to manage social benefits through govt, or on these terms and conditions applied to marriage, or on the terms and conditions of marriage and benefits tied to govt
That's 3 different levels people disagree on due to difference in creeds.
To get people to agree to a uniform neutral policy through govt either means only limiting the policy to where there is consensus OR separating policies by different groups to fund and follow their own choice and beliefs about policy
It's like the school prayer issue: either agree on one denomination so everyone consents to the school policy, or give eveyone equal free choice of their own beliefs. Which is how Texas came up with the Moment of Silence that was enough for people to agree on as neutral
Prayer isn't neutral but Moment of Silence passed as legislation.
Marriage isn't neutral but civil unions and domestic partnerships, legal guardianship and custody / estate agreements are neutral positions that can be set up regardless of social relations or not. As long as people agree to the legal and financial terms and conditions of the contract.
So let people apply and add their terms and conditions. And just keep the govt policy neutral without requiring or regulating "social relations through govt"