The US government, and local and state governments, should not be involved in the validation of marriage at all. If one is truly conservative and believes in small government, marriage ceremonies should be irrelevant to the state. Marriage should be a contract between individuals. If one wants government in the bedroom, one is then what is commonly called a statist. That is the European model. I am happily married, in a heterosexual relationship, with three lovely children. I want the government to regulate their lives as little as possible. That was the original American way, and it is a way to which we should return.