Quick And Dirty

Average representation of marriage license laws:

1) The marriage license fee is $50.00 dollars. Accepted forms of payment are cash. (Get 'em in... get 'em out -- no hassles.)
2) You do not have to be a previous or current resident to obtain a marriage license that is valid statewide. (Just breeze in from anywhere and get married!)
3) You will receive your license immediately. (WHEE!)
4) You can marry immediately after receiving your license.
5) You must be 18 years old or older to marry without parental consent. If either partner is under 18, parental consent forms must be signed. If you are under 16 you can not marry without a court order. (Because you know someone has tried to get married at 12. One would think California would be the most irritating state to get married in as far as bureaucratic barriers, but in this case it has no age minimum listed -- scary.)
6) No blood test or physical exam is required. (Why bother knowing if your spouse-to-be has AIDS?)
7) Your license will expire 60 days from the date it is issued.
8) Marriage by proxy is not allowed. (Thank God.)
9) Cousin marriages are allowed. First cousins may marry, but double first cousins may not marry. Double first cousins occur when the couple is related through both parents. For instance, Jerry marries Sally and Jerry's sister marries Sally's brother. Their children are double first cousins. (OH... MY... Again, California has no "double cousins" provision -- again, SCARY.)
10) Common-law marriages are not allowed. (Well... okay, you got a point there...)
11) Same-sex marriages are not allowed. (And there as well...)

Sounds like a dream! Faster than a McDonald's happy meal! See now why state officiated marriages tend to fizzle? Glad I'm actually bothering to make an, I dunno', COVENANT and take my time making a new life and a new home. YIKES!

But in retrospect, I guess there is something to be said for the State staying out of the marriage business. No one can decry religious persecution or discrimination (except someone wanting to take the absurd exception to the same-sex rule). The State has left all the gory details of getting to know one's future spouse to the future spouse. The State has left the marriage contract totally up to the individuals getting married -- much like God says, "Here. Here's some free will. Go for it."

MF and I are going through all the privately mandated hoops, via our own recognizance. We get physicals regularly and tend to stay away from the seedier aspects of life that would expose us to such dangers as STD's and the like. We've been to see our officiating Pastor; we attend church regularly (and actually believe in and try to practice the tenants of Christianity); and we're pretty common sense, hold-onto-marriage-for-the-rest-of-our-lives kinds of folks to begin with, so we've got a leg up on some other couples, I guess.

The future of those who just whip by the Justice of the Peace and get it done doesn't look so bright in comparison. But on the other hand, what would be the advantage of making it difficult for people to get married? Marriage in and of itself tends to be a stabilizing institution. And if the State began imposing waiting periods, training courses, blood tests, and all sorts of other barriers, they would be venturing into Nanny State-ism, and that scares me more than the State's current blase approach.

We are beholden to God for our directives, not the State. Churches and private groups offer marriage training courses all over the place; bookstores are overflowing with educational and preparational literature on how to build and sustain healthy marriages. Those who truly want to seek out that information will. And they will find it very easily. Those who don't would probably not be impacted terribly much by a ham-fisted, dry, State-sponsored marriage program to begin with. (Ever been to the DMV? Uh-huh, that's what I mean.)

All the State can give us is an official piece of paper for legal recognition. Anything else is power. And the State should not have that kind of power over our lives.