An Argument For Government Involvement In Marriage

I’ve argued in the past that it would be good for everyone if the government got out of the business of legitimizing marriages. Check here for my full argument.

Here is one response from my friend Cody who disagrees. He’s an awesome friend who makes some excellent points.

So how exactly do you separate government from marriage?

After my law class, I don’t see how you do that. Marriage is law. Definitions of many crimes hang on that determination. That’s one of the first things a new institution usually does, birth/citizenship, death, and marriage claims. Without legal marriage, a woman can cheat on her husband time and time again, living a life without morals that would benefit children, and she would still probably get parental rights to those children.

It would be nice to separate the two, I can see your point, but that act of marriage is one that denotes a certain ensuing right to claim a family. I can see the problems it currently causes in the system, and I wish that gay groups would be willing to live with an equal, but different institution, it’s just that I’ve seen the opposite too, where nobody believes in marriage. That’s what scares me…not that gays will call themselves ‘married’, but that many others will begin to say, “Why marry?” Separate marriage from law, and we become like Argentina. I swear 80% of that country are ‘co-habitors’. A good portion of young men become animals under those circumstances, and women and children are left without a proper support system. That’s one small reason of many larger ones as to why I will be adopting internationally. I saw too many drunk ‘co-habitors’ sending their children to the store with the food stipend to buy alcohol. And if that child dare buy a sack of rice to stave his hunger, he would be beaten senseless upon returning home.

I believe there are probably other causes to the problems in a country like Argentina but I think that without a doubt the lack of a culture that values marriage is part of the problem.

1 Comment »

1. I like Cory. Well, I can only say I like his comment and view point. I will have to refer to it when I write my post on the matter.

   Comment by Michael — February 25, 2004 @ 8:31 am

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