On the legislation of marriage

Thank you, Herman, for agreeing to this debate with me. This is my first debate on the subject matter in general, and I'm looking forward to taking a different direction than the common "pro/anti gay marriage debate" - though Herman's variation of that debate inspired the original challenge, so props to him as well. I'm looking forward to a strong debate. For all voters, the definitions have been agreed upon - with one slight negotiation surrounding the definition of "marriage" in the comments. Please check there prior to voting. My argument as follows (all citations will be footnoted at the end of the argument). "Society can and does execute its own mandates: and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with which it ought not to meddle, it practices a social tyranny more formidable than many kinds of political oppression." [1] My argument that marriage should cease to be a separate, legally recognized civil institution (outside the possible bounds of contract law) stems primarily from this idea. The definition of marriage as agreed to by both parties of the debate demands that all parties to a marriage/personal union consent to the union. This is both consistent with the existing legal requirements, and key to a portion of the argument surrounding the de-legalization of marriage. The premise inherent in the legalization of marriage is that society can and should have the right to legitimize (or delegitimize) personal unions formed with the consent of those within the union. This premise is problematic for a number of reasons. In the United States (2010 statistics used), approximately 2/3 of partnered womens' first union was through cohabitation rather than marriage (48% of all women, including un-partnered). [2] At the time of publication, approximately 40% of those relationships transitioned into marriage within three years. [3] While the practical differences between a cohabitual union and a marriage are negligible (dependent upon the individuals involved in the union rather than the nature of the union itself), the fact of the legal marriage is to impart certain additional legal rights to one union, while denying those rights to others. This leads to the absurd conclusion of a cohabiting couple being required to pay a fee (for the marriage license) in order to receive legal rights denied them based solely on not having paid the demanded fee. Beyond the absurd, the social acknowledgement of personal unions through the legalization of marriage has led to society denying the rights associated with marriage to some demographics considered unpopular - typically based on matters of race or sexual orientation. While I would consider this to be self-evident, I suggest that the sanctions against same-sex partners having the right to marry in numerous jurisdictions (including otherwise liberal democracies) as adequate evidence to prove the point regarding the risks of giving society the right to legitimize/de-legitimize personal unions. As an alternative, I refer to the anti-miscegenation laws prevalent in the United States until they were struck down, which criminalized the marrying of people of different races. [4] In other words, the net impact of the legalization of marriage (as a separate entity than the realm of contract law) is the legitimization/de-legitimization of individual consent to a personal union at the whim of society for profit (through the sale of marriage licenses), or for a sense of moral superiority (through the denial of legitimization to people on the basis that they are an unfavoured demographic). On this basis, I contend that the legalization of marriage (in other words, a social legitimization/de-legitimization of a personal union between consenting individuals), is society issuing mandates in areas where it ought not (and where frequently it issues wrong mandates to begin with), and thus not morally acceptable. [1] Mill, John Stuart, "On Liberty", (source used) http://www.bartleby.com... [2] National Health Statistics Reports, "First Pre-marital Cohabitation in the United States: 2006-2010 National Survey of Family Growth", http://www.cdc.gov..., p4. [3] Ibid, p5 [4] https://en.wikipedia.org...