A solution to the gay marriage and the covenant marriage problem

The Other McCain agrees.  Get the government out of the marriage business.

Let each church decide for itself what marriage is, which views the government should ignore, and let people draw up what contracts they choose for living together.

You have the right to contract.  Let us have gay nuptial contracts, not gay marriages.

And the same for heterosexual relationships:  If a seventeen year old girl can contract for gigantic college debts that cannot be expunged by bankruptcy, in return for some academic training that will not necessarily give her a career, then she can agree to a nuptial contract that government does not necessarily think is fair to women.