Originally Posted by Jerry Nadler

We have a separation of church and state in this country. So for government purposes, you can be married.

The church may not recognize this. That's their business.

If you don't want to recognize it from a religious point of view, it's your business.

No one is forcing anybody to get married. The point of the separation of church and state is that when we deal with public business and the celebration of marriage by the state, the recognition by the state of who's married is not a religious question.