Really, the only thing that makes that last question interesting is how many rights, privileges and obligations are inequitably allocated as a consequence of most people's answers to it.
For my own part, I consider marriage one of three mechanisms that officially recognizes a family as a family (the others being birth certificates and adoptions), and I think officially recognizing (and encouraging) families is legitimately state business because families provide mutual support that would otherwise be a state obligation. Property rights are part of that, but just a special case.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2012-06-13 06:50 pm (UTC)Really, the only thing that makes that last question interesting is how many rights, privileges and obligations are inequitably allocated as a consequence of most people's answers to it.
For my own part, I consider marriage one of three mechanisms that officially recognizes a family as a family (the others being birth certificates and adoptions), and I think officially recognizing (and encouraging) families is legitimately state business because families provide mutual support that would otherwise be a state obligation. Property rights are part of that, but just a special case.