You're right; the error was made when the government accepted "marriage" as a basis for taxes and other secular benefits. The YES folks argue, vociferously, that marriage is a religious institution that has nothing to do with the government, despite ample real-world evidence to the contrary.

The government therefore needs stop taking the easy road, establish its own guidelines for who gets a break on taxes, and let the religious people have their lollipop.

Clearly, having only been married 29 years, I don't understand marriage as these religious people understand it, because I'm not the least bit afraid of the idea that other people might marry. I will note, in the spirit of Full Disclosure, that we were married in a civil ceremony.