Quote:From what I got from what he was saying is the state shouldn't have any right to do anything with marriage.  Marriage is and should be a religious affair, but at some point we decide to use it to alter our tax code and now the state is involved.  I think you two actually agree on this issue a lot more than you think.

To say that marriage is not a right is to permit government to define it, restrict it, regulate it, and, as we have seen, to deny it. Marriage as an institution should exist beyond the span of government, though some legal recognition of the union is neccesary for civil matters. Restricting marriage to the religious connotation should be anathema to our society, and I think Eric agrees; we disagree on the rights issue, not the government one. The person has every right, but the State has assimilated it under its control.

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