[darrellmaurina]

606 posted on 9/3/2015, 4:22:15 PM by Louis Foxwell: “Marriage was never a contract with the state until early in the 20th century. It has become a worthless and troublesome infringement on personal liberty.”

I don't know why this factually false information keeps being posted on Free Republic. It's been going on for years, with numerous people. Not meaning to attack you; you're just the latest person I've seen and I happen to be annoyed enough about other issues that I'm responding.

I have personally seen marriage licenses in county courthouses dating back to the early 1800s. Government-issued marriage licenses long predate the “early 20th century,” and long predate the 1800s, as well.

That may be a good or a bad thing, but it's a matter of indisputable fact.

The state has legitimate government interests in protecting and promoting marriage, not the least of which interests include child custody and inheritance rights.

It is a mark of social collapse that we now have huge percentages of children born out of wedlock, and even those born within marriage are quite likely to experience divorce. The government can and should be promoting and encouraging marriages. The fact that it isn't doing so, and actually is doing damage to marriage, doesn't mean that it doesn't have a legitimate interest in marriage.

Politicians sometimes do things which hurt the people they're supposed to be helping. That's nothing new. Damaging marriage is just a new example of government governing badly.

[wagglebee]

Early in the 13th century the Catholic Church began to require Banns of Marriage prior to a wedding. These banns were really an early form of marriage license and, in the 13th century at least, the Catholic Church WAS the government as far as marriage was concerned.

The practice of banns was left largely untouched by Protestant reformers and the Anglicans actually codified them into law.

The absurd notion that government has no business in marriage is simply a libertarian ruse to support same-sex "marriage" while pretending to oppose it. The libertarians do this with the entire leftist agenda.

[Louis Foxwell]

What you saw was marriage bands, published and filed with the state announcing the marriage of so and so. Licensure was never required for marriage in a church as a religious rite until the 20th century.

[little jeremiah]

The state has legitimate government interests in protecting and promoting marriage, not the least of which interests include child custody and inheritance rights.

It is a mark of social collapse that we now have huge percentages of children born out of wedlock, and even those born within marriage are quite likely to experience divorce. The government can and should be promoting and encouraging marriages. The fact that it isn’t doing so, and actually is doing damage to marriage, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have a legitimate interest in marriage.

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Very well said.