We shouldn’t use the word ‘marriage’ at all for the State/legal version, that should just be a sort of contract of mutual accountability, right?
I think this also cuts the other way, with the broad ‘State’ definition often being more flexible than many religious and other cultural groups want. A nice firm separation is a win-win IMHO.
Yup, the coercion-free logic should universally apply to all legally binding contracts of any sort! I’m aware of one specific coercion-rich polygamous relationship but that coercion only applies to one person (it’s a family friend) and coercion is hardly restricted to a specific dynamic.
I’d also add that our parent/child safety net is a horrible mess and single parents have far too much of a struggle (I was one myself, but I was lucky to be one during the dot com boom…as a token member of the local ‘Single Mom’s club’ I saw how much many of them struggled). That’s a huge issue and we should treat children like a resource rather than a burden. This is part of why the legal marriage issue comes up (if your’e married with a kid, then getting legally divorced can be traumatic for all involved, often trapping the poor kid in a dysfunctional co-parenting relationship in which they have some very bad examples to follow)
Personally I’d let people choose on their own if they wanted a religious or secular marriage ceremony but it just wouldnt have any legal force behind it. Thats how its done here in Japan. To get “married” a man and woman (only heterosexual couples can “marry” by law here) go to city hall and register their marriage. If they want a ceremony of any type thats up to them and nothing to do with the state.
This can be tied back to the question of police as well. Unfortunately as Ta Nahisi Cotes (sp?) points out in a recent Atlantic post, the job of enforcing deadbeat dad claims or CPS related issues really shouldnt be one which automatically (in some communities) devolves down to LEO work as that is not the best use of their power or authority. Not that the “family corporation” idea solves that, but far more rarely are breach of contract issues handled by LEOs.
Here’s a further reflection from me: as @nungesser pointed out Chick-Fil-A’s funding of anti-gay causes was never done openly. It only came to light after the release of IRS forms.
At least their support for “Police Lives Matter” is being done publicly.
They honestly were completely loathsome from the day they opened - they’ve been pushing and funding Southern Baptist extremism from the start. It just took a while for people to notice.
I have been permanently banned from the Chick-Fil-A on Sports Arena in San Diego for being a dick to the regional manager about their homophobia and religious extremism. I am somewhat proud of this.
