"Any two adults can run the household , one can make the decision if the other is incapacitated , one inherits when the other dies , etc etc . That parallel does not carry over to group marriages . When one dies , who inherits ? If one is incapacitied , who decides what the treatment should be ? Basically , pretty much none of the marriage benefit laws that are on the book make any sense for groups of more than two , so recongnising group marriages is a huge legal task , and one for which the outcomes are far from obvious . If we 're talking about legal recognition , and we are ( right ? ) , then the cases are wildly different . Our marriage laws , for better or worse , are set up on the assumption of two adults running a household . They also assume man and wife , true , but do n't actually depend on that . But the dependence on there being two people is embedded in the laws ; changing that is a huge project ."
"Yes , but gays would also want laws changed to accomodate THEIR form of marriage as well . The fact that one requires less change than the other should n't matter , should it ? Should having to do more reworking of laws and more paperwork hinder the pursuit of equality ? It seems to me your argument boils down to `` polygamy requires more work to make the laws accomodate it. `` Yeah -- such is the price for marriage equality . Let 's face it -- if society really wanted to make marriage an open-ended institution of equality rather than for opposite-sex couples which comprise most relationships , they could pull it off -- polygamy , gays , letting 17 year olds marry , etc . All those civil servants are there and can do it as directed as legislation is changed . Means could be set up to determine inheritance , for example . Laws can be worded to do it ."
"But the dependence on there being two people is embedded in the laws ; changing that is a huge project ."
"The fact that one requires less change than the other should n't matter , should it ? Should having to do more reworking of laws and more paperwork hinder the pursuit of equality ?"