Equal Opportunity Means Equal Rights

In our American society, customarily, the union of two people is between a man and woman who are "in love" with one another. Over the course of time, people have acknowledged relationships between those who belong to the same sex although these couples are not allowed to get married. Now, I believe the question is should we allow homosexuals to legally get married? I personally believe that homosexuals should have the same rights that I have as a heterosexual because denying them of the right that society gives me is a violation of their religious and social freedoms. And this is not right. Civil and religious marriages are two separate institutions. And the government has no business meddling in our personal affairs, since they should have better things to do in order to take care properly of its citizens. Many churches that marry homosexuals now exist, but the state does not recognize this. The Judeo-Christian traditions deny same-sex couples marriage or civil union on the textual grounds or religious beliefs that homosexuality is considered a sin. But doesn't our First Amendment of the Constitution safeguard religion or the lack of it? Our government should provide equal rights to its citizens; therefore, it should allow homosexuals or same-sex couples have the same benefits and rights as what are given to heterosexuals. Then I believe doing so would prove the accuracy of the intent of our constitution. I am totally against any form of discrimination to any minority in our country since I am a minority myself. Fairness and justice to all is the right thing to do.