Separation of Church and State

I don't understand why the issues of abortion and gay marriage have to color almost every decision made by the state and federal governments. These two issues skew and delay action on almost everything from health care reform to selecting and approving a supreme court judge. There is no law in the USA that tells a woman she has to choose abortion, nor is there one that requires any religion or church denomination to perform or sanction gay marriages. That's how separation of church and state works. If the values of the largest church where I lived as a teenager had made our laws, my lips would never have touched alcohol, and my feet would never have danced because 'dancing led to things.' But, if you can believe it, drive-in movies were OK. I know some folks don't want their tax dollars to pay for an abortion or allow same-sex couples to reap benefits from Social security and Medicare. Well, I don't like it that my tax dollars pay for capital punishment and the too frequent execution of innocent folks, but that's the price my taxes pay for the right not to have someone else's moral values shoved down my throat. I can live with that. KBP