To the OP. I'm also against Church influence over State.
Depends upon what we mean by "church influence." Christians voting their conscience per how they believe God wants us to administer our society, and according to His principles in Scripture - we're in a democracy, there's certainly nothing wrong in that. In fact, God wants us to spread His values, as we can and where we can. Democracy gives us the opportunity to enact some of our values through voting. If enough Christians would take that seriously, we would end up with better laws and leaders. Of course, voting per our Christian values is a tricky endeavor, our choices are often imperfect. But we should do as best as we can, when it comes to voting. Their is absolutely nothing wrong with collective Christian influence upon society. In fact, we are wrong not to exert such influence if we can utilize it according to Godly principles.
Is the man who commits adultery - even with his eyes - any less of a sinner than the man who has had a 23 year faithful relationship with another man? Jesus told us marriage is between one man and one woman.
No, these are no different. But as for your comparison, why do you feel the need to clarify the
faithfulness of the two homosexuals, as if that is admirable or somehow makes them any more noble. It just means that they have been faithful to what God calls an abomination.
Let Christian marriage in church continue to reflect that teaching but leave the secular world to decide on civil unions.
Yes, we are in a democracy. Beyond our votes, the courts have great power. Our constitution-based structure means that freedoms often transcend our individual morals and worldviews. Nonetheless, we have to be careful about how we view civil unions and related issues. The more normalized such unions are, the far more reach into the lives of families the state will have. And especially when it comes to children and adoption, this is a very serious issue with life-long ramifications, so it doesn't JUST involve the adults in such a union. I think we are not far off from having multiple entities in legal marriages/civil unions. Legally, marriage may one day mirror small LLCs and other legal entities. Again, Christians should vote
as we can (which has obvious limitations) - so that politicians appointing judges/making laws will hopefully make good decisions in their appointments and law making.