The solution

Remember:  It's not about taking sides.  It's about tolerance.  Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.   1) Remove the discrimination and favoritism inherent in the structure of the tax code.  Our tax code sucks anyway.  Scrap it and start over with something that actually makes sense and is not discriminatory.   2) All partnerships should be viewed as civil unions by the government.  Whether the ceremony is performed by a minister, a priest, or a civil servant is none of the government's business.  The government paperwork should say the same thing, regardless. 3) Create a standard set of elections that can be chosen (or opted out of) at the time of union.  These should include granting spouse/partner next of kin rights in medical emergencies, recognizing spouse/partner rights for access to spouse benefits such as insurance, inheritance, etc, ... Please feel free to weigh in on each of these points. We will examine the pros and cons of each in detail.