What if a state simply stopped collecting marriage records, leaving it entirely up to private religious institutions?
That would be liberty and government can’t have that. The tax code would have to be fixed and that would be a reduction in power. Nobody gives up power willingly, except people like George Washington.
Your suggestion would work, until a private religious organisation that recognises gay marriage does so. There are liberal denominations that already do. So at that point, do states chose which private religious organisations are “valid”? I’m not arguing, but with thousands married now, I don’t see a way of getting what many are calling for. You can’t get toothpaste back into the tube. Maybe we should simply do all we can to make our marriages stronger.