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Originally Posted by ken0042
Now with same sex marriage; the same thing could happen here. That's why I think that gay or straight, it should be up to the couple to say "we want to be an official couple."
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This sounds fairly reasonable to me, and with the definition of marriage being made more and more separate from traditional and religious roles I think it would be fine to have marriage simply be like a contract that you choose to enter into for certain formal recognitions and accompanied by plenty of small print.
Removing the traditional associations of marriage from some sort of formal government recognition of it would also remove some of the disincentive for those anti-marriage folks that want to be together for 40 years without bearing the specific mantle. They could just say something like 'Oh yes, we filed form 307-B', and reap the benefits of it. Those that want the tradition can still have it in their ceremonies.