Til Death do us Part

“We don’t get our rights because we are gay or women or minorities.  We get our rights, from our creator so every person should be treated the same way” – Ron Paul, 2008 GOP debates

This is another opinion in my life that has changed since looking into more libertarian ideas.  The marriage question has been on many peoples’ mind for years and looks like it won’t end any time soon.  Married couples are granted special privileges as well as common law couples.  It’s same sex couples that do not receive the same treatment and benefits from government.

The issue has been debated ad nauseum.  Perhaps its time to debate a new statement; perhaps government shouldn’t have any say in the marriage question.  Marriage is an agreement between couples.  It is a religious ceremony.  Since we should fully expect the church and state to remain separated, it follows that this topic should remain off limits to government as well.

They have no right or reason to tell us what an official married couple is.  That is for the couple and possibly a church to decide.  Frankly, no married couple should receive special benefits in the form of tax incentives (another social engineering attempt).  Marriage remains an agreement between two people who are joined together in a religious ceremony; it should not need the approval of a federal government to call it as such. 

My view is of the following; if a couple wants to come together in an agreement and get married, and a church is willing to hold the ceremony to announce the marriage, then they are married.  It doesn’t require the government to tell us what it takes. 

I can take it one step further; in a free society, I don’t see why two people can’t come together, without signing a registry, or having a religious ceremony and declare them married.  Let us remember that there are a lot of people who have no religious affiliation. 

History is full of incidences where marriage occurred to secure royalty, to secure a better class, for convenience and through parental matching.  Let’s not go off and think that these were matches made in heaven.  So if we move away from state acknowledged marriages, are we really moving away from long standing traditions? 

Is it really going to tear the country apart if we allow people to have freedom in this area?  I think it is the population with strong religious based convictions that will find it hard to accept; but their displeasure, based solely on church principles, doesn’t make a case for less freedom for others.  It is another example for the need to separate the church and state.