Why does the government have a role in any kind of marriage outside of enforcing personal contracts?
I’m not saying that marriage isn’t important, quite the contrary actually. I’m just saying that none of that importance comes from the government recognition of that marriage.
Think about your marriage, if you have one, and break it up by percentage. (Yes, I’m a true romantic.) Where do you get the value in your marriage? What is important?
- Love - Obviously, this is usually number one.
- Faith – Recognition by your church/faith is important to most, but not all.
- Family – Recognition by your family, important to some.
- Kids – Having the most stable unit possible to raise a family, important to many.
- Government – Having faceless bureaucrats hang on to paperwork acknowledging you got married for one or more of the other reasons. Important to….????
Who cares if the government recognizes your marriage? I'm not talking about same-sex marriage--I'm talking about every marriage. I take nothing of value from the fact that the government acknowledges I’m married (more on tax breaks in a second). I don’t care what they think about it. I care what my wife, family, kid(s), and church think about it. I don’t care what my selectman thinks.
That’s why I support marriage equality in this form: the government should have no say in any of it for anybody. I don’t need or want their approval to be perfectly honest. I simply don’t care what they think of my love life.
Marriage should be a two part deal—a personal contract between you and your spouse, and –if you wish—the recognition of a church that willingly decides to approve your union under their rules.
While a lot of people may agree with this in concept, many point out the tax breaks for marriage (to the extent that they exist). Look, that’s part of it. There’s no reason to give tax breaks to couples for getting married. I realize that's probably not popular, but my tax status should not be based on my dating ability. Not to mention, if you are getting married to get tax breaks, you definitely should not be getting married.
Under this system, individuals take the value of their marriage from the relationship, and if applicable, their sacred bond at their church/house of worship/Waffle House/etc—wherever they decide to get married. What do we need from the government?
I realize that this would be a political nightmare for a candidate (which is probably why the only candidate who seems to support it is Ron Paul) but I'm not a politician, so I don't have to care.