1000 Legal Incidents of Marriage

Chairm,

Thanks for clarifying that the 1000 plus rights I referred to are the "legal incidents of marriage," the rights and privileges that our legislature has provided. I note that these are in association with a requisite set of obligations and requirements as well. The spouse who has the right to make medical decisions (unless Jeb Bush is your governor) also has the obligation to do so.

These legal rights can be subject to predetermined conditions. The benefits afforded the spouse of a veteran do not obtain if one's spouse never served in the military, for example.

The government has certain powers as determined by the consent of the governed through the ratification of our Constitution and it's amendments. All other civil rights and liberties are retained by the people. To deny an individual such rights requires that the government provide a "compelling state interest." We discourage thievery by putting those who steal things in jail, for example.

Those who would deny same sex couples the right to marry have provided no compelling (nor even rational) reason to do so. Courts in six of the nine Canadian Provinces and five of our own state courts have confirmed this. Quite the contrary. Those who promote the value of marriage should encourage as many couples as possible to enter such a commitment. The fact that many same sex couples are willing to marry affirms that marriage is valuable. This is good for marriage and ought to be supported. (From: Family Scholar's blog Comment #61)