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Quote by: PatrickHenry Who said that governments are authorized to "license" marriage? Where does this "authority" come from? |
Two reasons.
1. One of government’s functions is record keeping. It’s legitimate that if you want them to register your marriage you have to pay some sort of fee. You have to pay to register your car, your dog, your boat… If you want to get married on a beach with a turtle as your minister, that’s between you and your spouse but if you want the government to recognise this marriage you’d better get a license.
2. Government is supposed to pass and apply laws. There are many issues such as property rights, inheritance, alimony etc that hinge on marriage. So the government should keep track of who is married to who.