I think that the tax code should not be structured around one being married or not. This is the only reason marriage has a civil component. That being the case this is really a question on how the government creates tax policy. Without it marriage is a purely religious institution. From a religious standpoint one cannot justify the practice
That’s why one can even blame Bush.
If not for the marriage benefits in his tax cuts, there wouldn’t have been a clamor for gay marriage.
It’s got more to do with asset management than anything else, IMO.....