Church and State: Using the Gov't to Legitimize Behavior

Jumping off my comment following SirCAL's comment on the drug post, I think this is worth a separate post. I have not heard a lot of folks float this idea around, though, I do not credit myself with creating it or anything, I just can't think of a cite for it off the top of my head. 

I think that the left and some right liberals (libertarians et al) tend to want to use the government to assuage their broken consciences. As I mentioned in my posts about the problem of evil, we have what I believe is an innate feeling of oughtness.  Not just about the world but about ourselves. Both the OT and NT tell us that the law is written on our hearts. Everyone knows they are a sinner. Having some authority above them give its blessing to their sin makes them feel better. 

Why for example do homosexuals, the vast majority of whom are non-monogamous, do not want families (as sick as that is) not settle for being merely left alone, but desperately want the State to marry them? I can totally understand that they want to not be criminally prosecuted for their sins. I cannot understand, outside of my present point, why they care so deeply that the State provide its imprimatur of acceptance to their lifestyle. 

Perhaps so much the same for prostitution, drug and other behavior crime advocates. Obviously there is an element there of just wanting to avoid arrest etc. But I think they are also motivated by a desire to feel as though their errant behavior is legitimate. After all, we implicitly understand, like it or not, that the gov't is a sovereign authority. 

Legislating Mental State

So there is a very interest series of articles concerning the criminalization of drugs over here.  I am wondering if my fellow bloggers might want to chime in with their opinions. As Christians should we vote for morality? Where does that line end (kept in this case specifically to drugs)? Freewill and liberty are also moral.  How do we balance these? I will be honest, my viewpoint has changed on this over the past year or so, but I am curious what you both have to say. 

At this point, let's restrict it to drugs, but it has ramifications for other 'victimless' crimes such as prostitution. To me any way, that is a much easier question to answer. As of now there are hundreds of thousands of women in slavery as prostitutes in this country. If prostitution were 'legal' I don not believe that situation would improve, but rather get much worse. 

I think drugs are a more difficult problem. On the one hand, there is no doubt that there is a criminal enterprise that exists only because pot (leaving out hard drugs, which I dont even consider an option for legalization) is illegal. There are millions of people in the justice system because of pot. This seems unjust and counter-productive. On the other hand, places with liberal pot laws have become bastions for harder drugs and other undesirable behavior. Sin will beget more sin. Thoughts?