A license implies permission.
Permission implies authority.
Marriage and Union are very different from a legal contract.
Most states did not require marriage licenses until the 20th century. Often put in place to control who was allowed to marry.
Cherry picking establishment folks from developed Colonial Possesions does not support the claim.
If Flying Spaghetti monster is your choice, then a Pastafarian Union is the path, not a state license.
Don’t mix the two: a State contract with State duties and obligations vs a Union of Persons with private contractual obligations and duties.
They are not the same.
And abandoned children still happens, even with the hallowed license.
Folks can create the benefits and rights by legal contract, and don’t need a marriage license.
Black and white couldn’t get a license. Homosexuals couldn’t get a license.
So the marriage license law was bad before but now it’s all good?
No thank you.
Government has no business in it.
I will leave this exchange here for folks to review.
Peace to you my friend.
It doesn’t matter what they call it a Bann, or a license, or recognition of common-law marriage, as long as it is legal, otherwise, do whatever you want, if you are a Muslim soldier that might mean shacking up with 4 women, or a Mormon Marine with 20 women, but when it comes to widow benefits, you better have something legal, if you want a widow recognized.
America has always done that, from the beginning.