SOME VALENTINE’S DAY THOUGHTS ON MARRIAGE:

As we approach the anniversary of Valentine’s own rebellion and denial, shouldn’t the nation that pioneered a popular government of the people, by the people, and for the people” be the one that finally stands to assert the pre-governmental primacy of matrimonial privacy?

It is time to privatize marriage. If the institution is really so sacred, it should lie beyond the withering hands of politicians and policy makers in Washington D.C. There should be no federal or state license that grants validity to love. There should be no state-run office that peers into our bedrooms and honeymoon suites. If the church thinks divorce and homosexuality are problematic, it should initiate the real dialogue to address these problems in-house rather than relying on state-sponsored coercion to affirm doctrinal beliefs. And if tax-codes and guardianships need some classification for couples, let’s revise civil union standards to reflect those needs.

Yes, the creepiest line in the Goodridge case is the one about there being three parties to every marriage — the couple being married, and the state.