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Originally posted by Tobiasly
Marriage and divorce: The reason people make a big deal about this is that there are many benefits to a marriage that is recognized by the government, i.e. taxes, rights during death/probate/etc. of the spouse, power of attorney, etc.
If you don't care about any of these things, there is no reason to get a government-recognized marriage. For people who do want these things, the government must regulate who gets married to prevent abuse. It can't be both ways.
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These things could all be handled by a legal contract, agreed to each party (maybe more than two people, if that's what they want -- not my business). Sure, maybe there would be a standard boilerplate contract, call it "marriage" if you like, but for govt to impose the rules and restrictions of a relationship between two people is wrong, in my opinion, especially when you consider that many of those rules & restrictions are rooted in religion. Nasty business, imposing one's religion on another...
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Adoption: I'm sure you don't really think that anyone who expresses the desire to adopt a child should be able to. This is not an arrangement that is being made between two consenting adults; we are talking about the health, well-being, and safety of a child. There must be government regulations on the conditions under which adoption can occur.
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This is more of a side-argument, as I see it, but consider that we don't have laws on who is "qualified" to give birth... More to the point, I don't see why a govt-approved marriage should be any criteria for adoption. To be honest, though, I don't think most people are really qualified to have kids -- married or not, adopted or not -- but they get by. Guess it's a good thing they don't require my approval. heh