Gay marriage should be legal

First let me say that I do not believe that you choose to be gay. I believe that you are born that way. Some of my closest friends are gay, most of which I've known for years, and they all say that they knew they were different since they were children. I do not believe that you can "cure homosexuality" as I've heard some say, nor do I believe that gays should not have the exact same rights as everyone else. Which leads me to the topic of gay marriage. The most common reasoning behind the controversy of gay marriage is that marriage in the Bible is defined as a union between a man and a woman, and that it is declared "detestable" to lay with the same sex (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13, and Romans 1:26-27). While I support those who are close to their faith, which explains their personal sexual lifestyle, I do not support the government trying to control someone's lifestyle. Let me explain. According to the First Amendment, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…". While this statement implies that the government shall make the church the center of government (i.e. you have to be a certain religion to vote), this does apply to other things. Anyone remember Roy Moore? He was an Alabama supreme court justice who refused to have a monument of the 10 commandments removed from his courtroom. The controversy behind it was seperation of church and state. Moore argued for no seperation while many argued otherwise. However, when it comes to the subject of gay marriage, people are quick to throw no seperation of church and state back into the equation, when many of them thought otherwise during the Moore controversy. Also, we live in a democracy; a government "of the people". The governement makes decisions that are good for the country as a whole. So since when did the government decide that it was their place to decide who does, or in this case, doesn't get married. Shouldn't that be a choice left up to the two individuals? Besides a piece of paper that legally binds you to another person, it also entitles you to many benefits. One of which is making life decisions for that person if something was to happen to them. But because of their lifestyle, homosexuals are not entitled to those benefits. Example, say a man & woman go to Vegas, not knowing each other. They both end up at a bar one night, get drunk, and get married. They were not in a conscious frame of mind when they got married, so it isn't within the intimate characteristics of marriage in the first place. The next day, the woman is in a car crash. If she dies, then the man is entitled to all her assets that she left behind, simply because he is her husband. If she is put in ICU, say on life support, he can now make the decision whether to leave her on life support or turn the machine off. So even though this marriage was "on a whim" because these 2 were drunk, the USA gives them all the benefits. But say that a homosexual couple who have been together a long while, and love each other, decide to get married. They can't. If one gets hurt and on life support, that partner cannot make any decisions whatsoever for their loved one. I'm sorry, but that's not right. Also, this country has an immense history of human rights. The united states claims to be a nation of "equal opportunity" for all citizens. However, homosexuals can't get married, except in some states. And even then, they have to be a resident of that state for a certain amount of time. Also, there is also a huge debate now about Clinton's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy, which allowed homosexuals to serve in the military. What I want to know is this: if the United States is truly an "equal opportunity" nation, then why are they so quick to dismiss homosexuals like they don't deserve the same rights as everyone else? Does a homosexual not deserve to live their life with their partner and receive the benefits that come with that union?