Marriage should be legally recognized by the US government

I will first define some terms and will then address my opponents ideals, Since I don't have enough characters left I will post my contentions next round.Marriage- the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies,Legal- permitted by law; lawful.1. Marriage is a tradition that is steeped in religion and mysticism.con says that marriage is steeped in religion.steeped-to soak in water or other liquid, as to soften, cleanse, or extract some constituent: Based on that definition im not to sure what con is attempting to say here but judging from the context of the sentence I think he is trying to say that marriage is based on religion.Marriage is not based on religion. "Marriage was common if not universal throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East centuries before the Hebrews or Christians made any impression on the world stage. The Egyptians, Greeks and Roman classical civilizations all had notions of marriage and weddings long before they had any dealings with the ancient Hebrews, who were of course very much into polygamous marriages, courtesans and masters taking sexual advantage of their female slaves so hardly the greatest advertisements for gods monopoly on morality, monogamy and concerns with sexual abstinence and propriety."......http://mwillett.org...As we clearly see here marriage is not based on religion. Marriage is definitely embraced by religion though. My opponent also makes a claim that marriages are also based on mysticism. This claim is also false. According to Stanford mysticism comes from a Greek word witch means to conceal witch means secretive. Marriages are not secretive. When people marry they invite multitudes of people to observe. If marriage was secretive then no one would be invited. Also since marriage is recognized by the government there is no possible way for government recognized marriages to be secret since our government documents it.......http://plato.stanford.edu..."The United States considers itself a secular state; therefore it should associate itself with the tradition of marriage."This doesnt make sense. Your saying since the u.s is neutral in religious affairs then it should be associated with the often religious tradition of marriages?I will say this the state should be notified of marriages. Not for religious reasons but because someone who may not be religious may want to get married. Government officials may marry the couples instead of some religious person. So they can have a fair marriage if they don't have religious views.2. Marriage, holistically, does not benefit the government.I don't really see how this contention supports your case but I will state that marriages are not made to benefit the government, but is needed to be recognized by he government so that couples can legally obtain marital rights. How else could they obtain them? The state needs to know if your married to give you your rights. So marriages benefit the couples being married.3.Marriage can be maintained without government interaction.What would happen if the state didnt get involved with marriages? More People would be getting married left and right and would be getting divorced more than ever. Why? Well since there arnt legal ramifications that could happen and since there isnt a long waiting period then people would be more likely to jump into marriages without understanding the strong commitment of the symbolism of marriage. Thus there more at risk of marrying someone they don't want to be with forever. State intervention is sort of like a back up system to further solidify the seriousness of marriage. The law saying if you cheat on your spouse it is a crime is beneficial. It is a added bonus to prove the seriousness of marriage commitment. Also if the state wasn't involved then people could just lie and say there married and marry others. Our legal system protects against this. Polygamy is illegal. If government finds out you will go to jail. This fact enhances the realization of the seriousness of he commitment of marriage.