I'm opposed to the current legal definitions of marriage as I think it's a form of social control. In the UK, marriage is a civil or religious ceremony which affords certain legal rights to those entering the arrangement. They're based on the largely misogynistic definitions of marriage (ownership of women etc.) but have become far more equal in the last 30 years. The main problem is that the UK Government use marriage as a form of social engineering, affording special rights to married people which are not afforded to those who may be in equally or more committed relationships (or none) who have not signed the legal contract. Essentially, you hand over information about and access to yourself in return for tax breaks. That has sinister connotations.
In my opinion, the government has no right to get involved in my relationships and definitely no business bribing people into entering legal contracts.
I understand that in a complex society like the UK, there is a need for certain legal structures around a relationship to protect all parties: i.e. to decide what happens to ownership of common property in the case of a break-up, protection of children etc. however I think that should work like Tenancy contracts: be freely available for anyone to enter into without the need for government intervention. In fact, if one chooses, it's entirely possible to get legal cover for every aspect of the official marital contract except for the tax breaks. I know because I've done it.
I completely separate the legal side of things to the celebratory/public declarations bits of marriage: what I refer to as a Commitment Ceremony. I'm still saving up for my party and will have friends/family there. I'll publically declare my love and all of that good stuff, there'll just be no signing of a register afterwards because I've already taken care of all that without the government sticking their nose in.
In my opinion, the government has no right to get involved in my relationships and definitely no business bribing people into entering legal contracts.
I understand that in a complex society like the UK, there is a need for certain legal structures around a relationship to protect all parties: i.e. to decide what happens to ownership of common property in the case of a break-up, protection of children etc. however I think that should work like Tenancy contracts: be freely available for anyone to enter into without the need for government intervention. In fact, if one chooses, it's entirely possible to get legal cover for every aspect of the official marital contract except for the tax breaks. I know because I've done it.
I completely separate the legal side of things to the celebratory/public declarations bits of marriage: what I refer to as a Commitment Ceremony. I'm still saving up for my party and will have friends/family there. I'll publically declare my love and all of that good stuff, there'll just be no signing of a register afterwards because I've already taken care of all that without the government sticking their nose in.
Sum ergo sum
