According to Wikipedia, Marriage is a social, religious, spiritual and/or legal union of individuals
that creates kinship. Marriage is an institution in which interpersonal relationships are
acknowledged by the state, by religious authority, or both. It is often viewed as a contract. Civil
marriage is the legal concept of marriage as a governmental institution. The act of marriage
changes the personal and social status of the individuals who enter into it.
People marry for many reasons; legal, social, emotional, and economic stability, the formation of a
family unit, procreation,and the education and nurturing of children; legitimizing sexual relations and
public declaration of love. Marriage may take many forms. For example, a union between one man
and one woman is heterosexual marriage. A marriage in which a person takes more than
one spouse is polygamy. Some jurisdictions and religious denominations recognize same-sex
marriage. .
A marriage in modern times is usually performed by a religious minister or a civil officer. The act of
marriage usually creates legal obligations between the individuals involved and usually their
extended families.
Why is the freedom to marry so important? For starters, marriage is the most universally recognized social institution in the world. So if the ultimate goal is to achieve full equality for all people in all aspects of society, then achieving equality in this most prominent arena will certainly go far toward realizing this vision. More important, marriage is, at its core, a public recognition of a private commitment that two people in love make to each other, a commitment that transcends gender.
So why should marriage not be legal? Because the most important connotations of the word Marriage are social and religious in nature and or defined by organized religion, personal religious beliefs, or personal values. The Government has no stake in the word Marriage as a legal term. In fact Freedom of Religion would dictate that Goverment should not use the word at all.
But goverment does provide certain benefits and obligations to the Civil aspects of Marriage and therefore should have a term to appy to this Union. The only logical conclution is to call this Civil Contract to which government provides legal benefits and Legal Obligations is a Civil Union. The Word Marriage should never be a part of the legal definition.
If A person wishes to have his Religious Institution call the Union marriage after the proper ceremony, or if the private individuals wish to call their Union a marriage then so be it. So long as they obtain the proper Government licenses for their Civil Union in order to secure the benefit & obligation of the Union, They should be free to call their Union whatever makes them Happy.
