President Bush once said that marriage is a sacred institution and should be reserved for the union of one man and one woman. If this is the case - and most Americans would agree with him on this - then I have to ask: Why is the government at all involved in marrying people?

I propose that the government should get out of the business of marrying people and, instead, only give legal status to civil unions.

If marriage really is a sacred institution, then why is the government controlling it, especially in a nation that affirms separation of church and state?

From the beginning, there have been some religious leaders who greeted the funding of faith-based social services by government with ambivalence.

After-school tutoring programs, care for the elderly, shelters for the homeless, disaster relief work, and a variety of other services would all benefit from government funding.