And the next step should be a complete separation

[MadHound]

42. Separation of church and state?

I think that with our current setup, church and state are actually well separated. You can get married by a person, who either is or isn't a church official, and they perform the nuptial ceremony. Your marriage is legally recognized by the state when that piece of paper, the marriage license, is filed.

You really don't get this, do you. You are letting your irrationality blind you to the legal facts of marriage. I can(hypothetically speaking if I were single) go to any priest or minister in this country, have them perform the full marriage ceremony word for word, and it still wouldn't mean that I am legally married. The only way that occurs is if I sign that piece of paper provided by the state. Contrariwise, my partner and I can sign that piece of paper, that's it, nothing more, no words spoken by priest, judge or Bozo the Clown, and we would be legally and officially married.

But you want to interject, for whatever reason, another separate, unneeded ceremony to be performed at city hall.

Why? You still haven't adequately explained any logical reasoning for that. All you state is that other countries do it, so we should as well, and that somehow by doing this dual ceremony dance it will somehow weaken religion and strengthen the wall between church and state. Explain, please, clearly and concisely, how that would come about, something that you have yet to do.