[Alberta's Child]

My point is that the involvement of a government or "controlling legal authority" in marriage basically begins and ends with the enforcement of a contract. That's it.

Ironically, the whole idea about government involving itself in a religious institution like marriage is tied to this country's roots as a Protestant nation. That's why the whole question of defining marriage was never a problem before. As these religious sects lose their minds and turn away from their own moral principles over time, and as this country becomes populated by people from more and more different religious/ethnic backgrounds, the natural result is absolute chaos.

[ansel12]

My point is that the involvement of a government or "controlling legal authority" in marriage basically begins and ends with the enforcement of a contract. That's it. Ironically, the whole idea about government involving itself in a religious institution like marriage is tied to this country's roots as a Protestant nation. That's why the whole question of defining marriage was never a problem before. As these religious sects lose their minds and turn away from their own moral principles over time, and as this country becomes populated by people from more and more different religious/ethnic backgrounds, the natural result is absolute chaos.

Yeah, the need for marriage "law" is universal, not just in Greece and Rome and Europe, but among primitive tribes and other civilizations.

""Ironically, the whole idea about government involving itself in a religious institution like marriage is tied to this country's roots as a Protestant nation.""

That is ridiculous, you just threw out thousands of years of history. Government or controlling authority has always been involved in the legality of marriage.

While 1854 is pretty recent when we are talking about thousands of years of marriage laws, did you know that the GOP was founded partly on fighting marriage laws of the Apache Indians, and the Joseph Smith cult (Mormons)?