Quote:
Originally Posted by Villages PL
I don't think they need to be married other than for the purpose of debasing our culture. They can accomplish everything they need to accomplish with a contract of some sort. But it shouldn't be the standard marriage contract as it pertains to a man and a woman.
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And you just made my point.
They CANNOT accomplish the same thing. In many states contracts like those you refer to can be challenged by family members. As I said elsewhere, a congressional study found over 1600 "benefits" to marriage. So, in a sense, marriage can represent 1600 different contracts.
But I do take exception to part of what you said - that 'they' don't "need" to be married other than to be "debasing our culture". I can think of SO many legal marriages that are more debasing (like an adoptive uncle I had getting married 6 times to 4 women - to say nothing of the typical 'celebrity marriage').
Those 1600 benefits have almost nothing to do with what goes on inside a church - which is why I'm also in favor of protecting churches from having to perform ceremonies that their dogma says they shouldn't. Those 1600 benefits are secular benefits and, if you get them from when a Justice of the Peace marries you, well, that's the way it should be.