An Intellegent Commentary on the Subject of Marriage

Marriage is a contractual relationship between two (or more) persons, typically sanctioned by the state and providing certain benefits, duties and responsibilities to both parties; although the benefits, duties and responsibilities have changed greatly over time. Some of these benefits (in the United States), include but are not limited to:
• Sharing with a spouse control over property, labor and sexual services.
• Giving a spouse responsibility for a spouse's debts.
• Providing a spouse visitation rights when his/her spouse is incarcerated or hospitalized.
• The ability to transfer control over the spouse's affairs when the spouse is incapacitated.
• Establishing the second legal guardian of a parent's child.
• Establishing a joint fund of property for the benefit of children.
• Establishing a relationship between the families of the spouses.

As this is a contractual relationship, it is controlled by the state in which it is initatied, and not by federal law. This is evident in the differences of requirements from state to state, as the following information details.

A Marriage License, or intention of marriage, is required in all states except Idaho, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Puerto Rico

The common age of consent in the United States is 16 however; it can be as young as 13 for females and 14 for males in some states

So-called “Common Law” marriage (no documents or religious ceremony required) is legal in 10 states. There is no age of consent for Common Law marriages.

A Medical exam (STD, and in some cases rubella and sickle cell anemia for females) is required in 24 states

If these points are controlled by the state, then it can logically be represented that marriage is a legal condition, although marriage in some cases is accompanied by religious conditions or acceptance. The validity of marriage in one state is transferred to another; that is, if the parties are married in New York, they are considered married in Oklahoma as well, notwithstanding that certain states still have statutes forbidding certain types of marriage.

Religion did not formally enter marriage until the Council of Trent in 1563, which stated in part…that a Roman Catholic marriage would only be recognized if officiated by a priest with two witnesses. "The conjugal union of man and woman, contracted between two qualified persons, which obliges them to live together throughout life”…

After the break between the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England, Lord Hardawicke’s Act, 1753 (Anglican Church) was the first to require performance of a religious ceremony, with witnesses. This act, however, did not affect the marriages within the Jewish or Quaker religious sects.

From my review, briefly stated above, of marriage as both a civil and religious action, it is my contention that marriage is a civil contract, and the choice of including or excluding the religious component is left to the participants. It is also my conclusion that, as marriage is a civil contract, there is no valid arguement for refusing to allow gays and lesbians (same sex marriage) the same rights, privilages, benfits and responsibilites currently provided to hetrosexual couples under current laws and conditions.

Notes:
Source: Cornell University Law School
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Witte Jr., John (1997). From Sacrament to Contract: Marriage, Religion, and Law in the Western Tradition. Westminster John Knox Press. pp. 39–40