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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Marriage: License or Contract?

The current marriage debate is rife with falsehoods designed to steer public policy into the arms of the statists.

Please, allow me to start with an easy falsehood that the proponents of same sex marriage, and their allies, have been spreading: Same Sex Marriage is about Marriage Equality. This is easily revealed false because the proponents constantly define marriage equality as something to do with couples, exclusively unrelated couples, never anything other than unrelated couples, and absent are couples that could not get a marriage license even if they were opposite sexes. The world of partnering in America, and the rest of the world, is much wider than unrelated couples.

Now, for this topic, the marriage license vs. the marriage contract. Back before 1215 when the Catholic Church created the banns of marriage tradition, marriages resembled contracts between families. The banns formalized that a bit, requiring Catholic couples to declare their intent to union for a few weeks, lest anybody in the community have an objection.

Still, the government was not involved.

Even in 17th century America, the Colonies were slow to adopt marriage licensing and “common law marriage” ruled the day.

Modern common law marriage is not exactly a “contract” either. It does bear some resemblance to a contract. The parties involved enter it willingly, sort of. In States that have Common Law Marriage, the State decides if a couple is married, frequently after one of them has gone to the great beyond and there is a question about who owns their property. So, we really do not have willing parties involved in common law marriage, we have States injecting themselves into relationships.

However, true enough it is possible to be in other contacts unknowingly or unwillingly. Know it or not, every time you purchase anything, even if words are not spoken, you and they created a verbal contract.

Many people have heard the colloquial term “palimony,” where an unmarried couple ends up in a court imposed spousal support situation, and presume it to be the law across the land. If you are one who still believes that it is in play in California, it may surprise you that California abolished common law marriage in 1896 and Michelle Triola was informed of this when she lost her quest for a lifetime of support from ex-boyfriend Lee Marvin. The mainstream media did not do such a hot job of getting the word out on that outcome.

What of licensed marriage then? Writers write daily about these situations, and they keep calling them “contracts.” What serious person can call a licensed marriage a contract when it bears not even the most superficial facade of a contract? Even more importantly, why would any self-respecting libertarian call it that? We libertarians are supposed to be pretty good at identifying things that are disguised by the collectivists with a thin candy shell.

For starters, all licensed marriages are licenses between individuals and the State. Only two individuals allowed per license! Are the individuals allowed to set any terms of the license? Not on your life! Show me one marriage license in all of America that has blank space for terms, stipulations, or any other feature of a written contract.

Can anybody have simultaneous marriage licenses with other people? No, that is against the law everywhere in the USA.

Can the parties named on the marriage license stipulate an “open marriage” where either, or both parties, can have intimate relations with people not named on the license? No, not anywhere in the USA.

In community property States, can the parties contract to “fence off” property from one another, and have a court respect/enforce that? No.

What about property division? Are prenuptial agreements the final word, or does the government decide? In reality, the government decides and tosses out prenups on a regular basis in favor of State law on property division.

What if the parties involved get married in a no-alimony State, like Tennessee, and get divorced in an alimony State, like New York. Is the marriage ‘contract’ enforced under the Tennessee rules, or New York rules? New York rules, of course, especially if the couple has lived there for a while and one party wants to be divorced there, while the other wants the divorce heard in Tennessee.

One of the basics of contracts is that you cannot make one that violates the law. Prostitutes (illegal ones anyway) cannot obligate you by contract into a paid sexual transaction, and they cannot make a contract that says “if you are a cop you cannot arrest me.” So what of a marriage contract? Just try to think of anything in a marriage that one could add or subtract that does not violate State marriage law. In Tennessee, can you agree on child custody and have a court enforce that agreement? No, because the State law favors the mother as long as she is not proven “unfit.” So any agreement giving father gets custody can be thrown out, no matter what the parties agreed to.

Without a license there are more possibilities, but there are pitfalls too. In most States, I presume, multiple people can purchase one piece of property and as long as they stay away from marriage licenses, their wills and powers of attorney sway courts in the general direction of their desires over their property.

One of the women before the US Supreme Court yesterday today complained that she married another woman in Canada and, when her wife died, she got whacked with a large tax bill.


In other words, she got screwed the same way any other unlicensed partner gets screwed by the tax man in the USA. The same way a blood relative of the deceased gets the shaft, but the argument was not to include anybody into marriage licensing or the special tax rules associated with licensed marriage. Oh no, it was only to include unrelated same sex partners into marriage licensing. Neither was there any call to tax everybody equally. No, the call was to give special treatment to one group that is not available to everybody else. Or more accurately, to add special privilege to one small group while denying it to others.

I am trying very hard, seriously, to think of anything a married couple can agree to that a divorce court cannot undo. If a group (any two or more will do) contracts for anything, one cannot legally go into the bank account of another and spend their money. Not so in much of the USA when a marriage license is involved. One might say you are combining assets and giving permission with a marriage license to do this, but are you ever allowed to withhold that permission? Not everywhere.

In real estate, there are special rules of course, but those apply to the unlicensed spooners as well as the licensed. All parties responsible for a mortgage must sign that they agree. Deeds must have all owners listed, even if the owners are “entities” like partnerships, which have individual partners listed elsewhere. In a community property State, can one person in a licensed marriage buy property alone and keep it after a divorce? No. Can unlicensed people do that in non-common law States? Of course.

Well, perhaps I am missing something here. I don’t mean the candy-coating of legal wording calling licensed marriage a “contract,” compact, or any of those other linguistic smokescreens. If there are any domestic lawyers out there who can point out how, precisely, any legal USA marriage is a contract between two people and enforced by the State like any other, let me know? Both I and the English language will thank you.

For the rest of you people, if you seek marriage equality, ditch the license and lobby for contracts.

Ⓐ Steve Ⓐ
 

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

My Call to Hallerin Hill's Show About Marriage Licensing and Supreme Court on Gay Marriage

Called one of my favorite radio shows today and chatted with Hallerin Hill about government messing with marriage:
YouTube version.

Later in the day, the US Supreme Court discussed the issue with some lawyers:
YouTube version here.

If you people want to end marriage inequality, you need to get rid of the licenses.

Ⓐ Steve Ⓐ

1138 Reasons Why Government Should Get Out of the Marriage Licensing Business

1138 reasons why government should get out of the marriage licensing business. This PDF is the easier way to read, but the text version is pasted below - http://www.gao.gov/assets/100/92441

What follows is an apparent "justification" given to Bill Frist for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  It is a list of goodies people with marriage licenses are eligible for, yet it lumps in a host of goodies that people who have never been married can get too.  For example: Title 42 – Chapter 6A—Subchapter II Part D—Subpart I—§ 254d Subchapter IV: Grants to States for Aid and Services to Needy Families with Children and for Child-Welfare Services. Which, in reality, is available to single parents too.

However, there is stuff licensed couples (the only combination licensed in the USA right now) get that unlicensed folk don't get, like § 1320b-17 Recovery of SSI overpayments from other benefits.  If one is subscribing to the notion that SSI is actually insurance, shouldn't any single person be able to name the beneficiary of their choice rather than the government picking and choosing the beneficiary?  What happens to an SSI overpayment if a single person dies anyway?  What about someone in a commune?  Also, an overpayment paid to a spouse is not something the recipient paid for at all, it is something someone else paid for.

This whole marriage issue is about the list below and has nothing to do with freedom, freedom to marry or otherwise.  If they wanted marriage freedom, you would be including everybody.  Hillary Clinton sure as Hell is not promoting equal rights for all:
The only thing she is promoting is more couples becoming eligible for the gravy train listed below.

When do these people ever bring up the list below in relation to people who cannot get a marriage license even after gay people are eligible?  What for them?

If marriage is a right, it should not be licensed.  If it is about government handouts, then the arguments being used in favor of more licensing is right on target.

Something else that is quite funny, is the reaction to ending marriage licenses by the pro-gravy train crowd:


QueerSpring2013 ‏@QueerSpring20131h
@AustrianAnarchy why are you a stupid fucking asshole shut the fuck up gay bashing worthless pile of shit
QueerSpring2013 ‏@QueerSpring20131h
FUCK HETEROSUPREAMCY @AustrianAnarchy @cspan 1138 reasons for #MarriageEquality http://www.c-span.org/Live-Video/C-SPAN2 … #LGBT Americans pay for & denied
So, feast your eyes on what the marriage licensing crowd is after:
GAO-04-353R Defense of Marriage Act
United States General Accounting Office
Washington, DC 20548
January 23, 2004
The Honorable Bill Frist
Majority Leader
United States Senate
Subject: Defense of Marriage Act: Update to Prior Report
Dear Senator Frist:
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) provides definitions of “marriage” and “spouse” that
are to be used in construing the meaning of a federal law and, thus, affect the interpretation
of a wide variety of federal laws in which marital status is a factor.1 In 1997, we issued a
report identifying 1,049 federal statutory provisions classified to the United States Code in
which benefits, rights, and privileges are contingent on marital status or in which marital
status is a factor.2 In preparing the 1997 report, we limited our search to laws enacted prior
to September 21, 1996, the date DOMA was signed into law. Recently, you asked us to
update our 1997 compilation.
We have identified 120 statutory provisions involving marital status that were enacted
between September 21, 1996, and December 31, 2003. During the same period, 31 statutory
provisions involving marital status were repealed or amended in such a way as to eliminate
marital status as a factor. Consequently, as of December 31, 2003, our research identified a
total of 1,138 federal statutory provisions classified to the United States Code in which
marital status is a factor in determining or receiving benefits, rights, and privileges.
To prepare the updated list, we used the same research methods and legal databases that we
employed in 1997. Accordingly, the same caveats concerning the completeness of our
1 The Defense of Marriage Act defines “marriage” as “a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife”; it defines “spouse” as referring “only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.” The Act requires that these definitions apply “[i]n determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States.” 1 U.S.C. § 7.
2 U.S. General Accounting Office, Defense of Marriage Act, GAO/OGC-97-16 (Washington, D.C.:
January 31, 1997).
Pag e 2 GAO-04-353R Defense of Marriage Act
collection of laws apply to this updated compilation, as explained more fully in our prior
report. For example, because of the inherent limitations of any global electronic search and
the many ways in which the laws of the United States Code may deal with marital status, we
cannot guarantee that we have captured every individual law in the United States Code in
which marital status figures. However, we believe that the probability is high that the
updated list identifies federal programs in the United States Code in which marital status is a
factor.
We have organized our research using the same 13 subject categories as the 1997 report. As
agreed with your staff, in addition to providing you with a primary table of new statutory
provisions involving marital status, we have prepared a second table identifying those
provisions in our prior report that subsequently have been repealed or amended in a manner
that eliminates marital status as a factor. Finally, in a third table, we have listed those
provisions identified in our 1997 report that have since been relocated to a different section
of the United States Code. We have also attached a brief summary of the 13 research
categories; a full description of each category is set forth in the 1997 report.
We plan no further distribution of this report until 30 days after the date of this letter. At that
time, we will send copies of this letter to interested congressional committees. The letter will
also be available on GAO’s home page at http://www.gao.gov.
If you have any questions, please contact me at (202) 512-8208 or by E-mail at
shahd@gao.gov. Behn Miller Kelly and Richard Burkard made key contributions to this
project.
Sincerely yours,
Dayna K. Shah
Associate General Counsel
Pag e 3
APPENDIX 1
Table of Statutory Provisions Involving Marital Status Added to the United States Code
Between September 21, 1996, and December 31, 2003, by Category
CATEGORY 1—SOCIAL SECURITY AND RELATED PROGRAMS, HOUSING, AND FOOD
STAMPS
Title 42 – The Public Health and Welfare
Chapter 6A—Public Health Service
Subchapter II
Part D—Primary Health Care
Subpart I—Health Centers
§ 254d National Health Service Corps
Subchapter IV—Grants to States for Aid and Services to Needy Families with Children and
for Child-Welfare Services
Part B—Child and Family Services
Subpart 2—Promoting Safe and Stable Families
§ 629a Definitions
Subchapter XI—General Provisions, Peer Review, and Administrative Simplification
Part A—General Provisions
§ 1320a-7
Exclusion of certain individuals and entities from participation in Medicare and state
health care programs
§ 1320b-17 Recovery of SSI overpayments from other benefits
Part C—Medicare + Choice Program
§ 1395w-22 Benefits and beneficiary protections
§ 1395w-23 Payments to Medicare + Choice organizations
§ 1395w-27 Contracts with Medicare + Choice organizations
Part D—Miscellaneous Provisions
§ 1395x Definitions
§ 1395ff Determinations; appeals
Chapter 35—Programs for Older Americans
Subchapter III—Grants for States and Community Programs on Aging
Part C—Nutrition Services
Subpart III—General Provisions
§ 3030g-21 General provisions—nutrition
§ 3030s Definitions
Chapter 46—Justice System Improvement
Subchapter XII—F—Public Safety Officers’ Death Benefits
Part A—Death Benefits
§ 3796d Purposes
§ 3796d-1 Basic eligibility
Subchapter XII—H—Grants to Combat Violent Crimes against Women
§ 3796gg-1 State grants
Chapter 84—Department of Energy
Part A—Establishment of Compensation Program and Compensation Fund
Subchapter XVI—Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program
§ 7384s Compensation and benefits to be provided
§ 7384u Separate treatment of certain uranium employees
Part C—Treatment, Coordination, and Forfeiture of Compensation and Benefits
§ 7385c
Exclusivity of remedy against the United States and against contractors and
subcontractors
Chapter 110—Family Violence Prevention and Services
§ 10410 Grants for state domestic violence coalitions
§ 10421 Definitions
Pag e 4 GAO-04-353R Defense of Marriage Act
Chapter 129—National and Community Service
Subchapter I—National and Community Service State Grant Program
Division F—Administrative Provisions
§ 12639 Evaluation
Chapter 130—National Affordable Housing
Subchapter I—General Provisions and Policies
§ 12704 Definitions
§12713 Eligibility under first-time home-buyer programs
Chapter 136—Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement
Subchapter III—Violence against Women
Part C—Civil Rights for Women
§ 13981 Civil rights
§ 13992 Training provided by grants
Chapter 143—Intercountry Adoptions
Subchapter V—General Provisions
§ 14952 Special rules for certain cases
CATEGORY 2—VETERANS’ BENEFITS
Title 38—Veterans' Benefits
Part II—General Benefits
Chapter 17—Hospital, Nursing Home, Domiciliary, and Medical Care
Subchapter II—Hospital, Nursing Home, Or Domiciliary Care and Medical
Treatment
§ 1710B Extended care services
Subchapter VIII—Health Care of Persons other than Veterans
§ 1781 Medical care for survivors and dependents of certain veterans
Chapter 18—Benefits for Children of Vietnam Veterans
Subchapter III—General Provisions
§ 1821 Definitions
Chapter 19—Insurance
Subchapter III—Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance
§ 1967 Person insured; amount
§ 1969 Deductions; payment; investment; expenses
Chapter 23—Burial Benefits
§ 2306 Headstones, markers, and burial receptacles
Part III—Readjustment and Related Benefits
Chapter 30—All-Volunteer Force Educational Assistance Program
Subchapter II—Basic Educational Assistance
§ 3020
Transfer of entitlement to basic educational assistance: members of the Armed Forces
with critical military skills
Chapter 42—Employment and Reemployment Rights of Members of the Uniformed Services
§ 4215 Priority of service for veterans in Department of Labor job training programs
Part IV—General Administrative Provisions
Chapter 53—Special Provisions Relating to Benefits
§ 5302 Waiver of recovery of claims by the United States
§ 5313B Prohibition on providing certain benefits with respect to persons who are fugitive felons
Part V—Boards, Administrations, and Services
Chapter 77—Veterans Benefits Administration
Subchapter II—Veterans Outreach Services Program
§ 7721 Purpose; definitions
Pag e 5
CATEGORY 3—TAXATION
Title 26—Internal Revenue Code
Subtitle A—Income Taxes
Chapter 1—Normal Taxes and Surtaxes
Subchapter A—Determination of Tax Liability
Part IV—Credits Against Tax
Subpart A—Nonrefundable Personal Credits
§ 24 Child tax credit
§25A Hope and lifetime learning credits
§ 25B Tax imposed on individuals
Subchapter B—Computation of Taxable Income
Part III—Items Specifically Excluded from Gross Income
§ 101 Certain death benefits
Part VII—Additional Itemized Deductions for Individuals
§ 138 Medicare + Choice MSA
§ 221 Interest on education loans
Subchapter D—Deferred Compensation, Etc.
Part I—Pension, Profit-Sharing, Stock Bonus Plans, Etc.
Subpart A—General Rule
§ 408A Roth IRAs
Subchapter F—Exempt Organizations
Part VIII—Higher Education Savings Entities
§ 529 Qualified tuition programs
§ 530 Coverdell education savings accounts
Subchapter K—Partners and Partnerships
Part IV—Special Rules for Electing Large Partnerships
§ 774 Other modifications
§ 775 Electing large partnership defined
Subchapter O—Gain or Loss on Disposition of Property
Part II—Basis Rules of General Application
§ 1022 Treatment of property acquired by decedent dying after December 31, 2009
Subchapter W—District of Columbia Enterprise Zone
§ 1400C First-time home-buyer credit for District of Columbia
Subtitle B—Estate and Gift Taxes
Chapter 11—Estate Tax
Subchapter A—Estates Of Citizens Or Residents
Part IV—Taxable Estate
§ 2057 Family-owned business interests
Subchapter C—Miscellaneous
§ 2210 Termination
Chapter 12—Gift Tax
Subchapter B—Transfers
§ 2511 Transfers in general
Chapter 13—Tax on Generation-Skipping Transfers
Subchapter D—GST Exemption
§ 2632 Special rules for allocation of GST exemption
Subtitle F—Procedure and Administration
Chapter 61—Information and Returns
Subchapter A—Returns and Records
Part II—Tax Returns or Statements
Subpart B—Income Tax Returns
§ 6015 Relief from joint and several liability on joint return
Part III—Information Returns
Subpart B—Information Concerning Transactions with Other Persons
§ 6045 Returns of brokers
Pag e 6 GAO-04-353R Defense of Marriage Act
Chapter 62—Time and Place for Paying Tax
Subchapter A—Place and Due Date for Payment of Tax
§ 6159 Agreements for payment of tax liability in installments
Chapter 63—Assessment
Subchapter C—Tax Treatment of Partnership Items
§ 6230 Additional administrative provisions
Chapter 66—Limitations
Subchapter B—Limitations on Credit or Refund
§ 6511 Limitations on credit or refund
CATEGORY 4—FEDERAL CIVILIAN AND MILITARY SERVICE BENEFITS
Title 5—Government Organization and Employees
Part III—Employees
Subpart A—General Provisions
Chapter 23—Merit system principles
§ 2301 Merit system principles
§ 2302 Prohibited personnel practices
Subpart B—Employment and Retention
Chapter 33—Examination, Selection, and Placement
Subchapter I—Examination, Certification and Appointment
§ 3301 Civil service; generally
Subpart D—Pay and Allowances
Chapter 57—Travel, Transportation, And Subsistence
Subchapter II—Travel And Transportation Expenses; New Appointees, Student Trainees,
And Transferred Employees
§ 5737 Relocation expenses of an employee who is performing an extended assignment
Chapter 59—Allowances
Subchapter III—Overseas Differentials And Allowances
§ 5922 General provisions
Subpart G—Insurance and Annuities
Chapter 90—Long-term Care Insurance
§ 9001 Definitions
§ 9002 Availability of insurance
§ 9003 Contracting authority
Title 6—Domestic Security
Chapter 1—Homeland Security Organization
§ 331 Treatment of charitable trusts for members of the armed services and other governmental
organizations
Title 10—Armed Forces
Subtitle A—General Military Law
Part I—Organization and General Military Powers
Chapter 2—Department of Defense
§ 118a Quadrennial quality of life review
Part II—Personnel
Chapter 55—Medical and Dental Care
§ 1108 Health care coverage through federal employees’ health benefits program: demonstration
project
Chapter 73—Annuities based on Retired or Retainer Pay
Subchapter II—Survivor Benefit Plan
§ 1448a Election to discontinue participation: one-year opportunity after second anniversary of
commencement of payment of retired pay
Chapter 88—Military Family Care Programs and Military Child Care
Subchapter II—Military Child Care
Pag e 7
§ 1798 Child care services and youth program services for dependents: financial assistance for
providers
Title 37—Pay and Allowances of The Uniformed Services
Chapter 7—Allowances
§ 403 Basic allowance for housing
§ 407 Travel and transportation allowances: dislocation allowance
§ 411f Travel and transportation allowances: transportation for survivors of deceased member to
attend the member’s burial ceremonies
§ 427 Family separation allowance
CATEGORY 5—EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AND RELATED STATUTORY PROVISIONS
Title 29—Labor
Chapter 30—Workforce Investment Systems
Subchapter I—Workforce Investment Definitions
§ 2801 Definitions
Subchapter IV—National Programs
§ 2918 National emergency grants
Title 30—Mineral Lands and Mining
Chapter 25—Surface Mining Control and Reclamation
Subchapter VII—Administrative and Miscellaneous Provisions
§ 1304 Surface owner protection
Title 42—The Public Health and Welfare
Chapter 46—Justice System Improvement
Subchapter XII—Public Safety Officers' Death Benefits
Part B—Educational Assistance to Dependents of Civilian Federal Law Enforcement
Officers Killed or Disabled in the Line of Duty
§ 3796d Purposes
§ 3796d-1 Basic eligibility
Chapter 84—Department of Energy
Subchapter XVI—Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program
§ 7384s Compensation and benefits to be provided
§ 7384u Separate treatment of certain uranium employees
§ 7385c Exclusivity of remedy against the United States and against contractors and subcontractors
CATEGORY 6—IMMIGRATION, NATURALIZATION, AND ALIENS
Title 8—Aliens and Nationality
Chapter 12—Immigration and Nationality
Subchapter II—Immigration
Part II—Admission Qualifications fFor Aliens; Travel Control of Citizens And Aliens
§ 1183a Requirements for sponsor’s affidavit of support
Part IV—Inspection, Apprehension, Examination, Exclusion, and Removal
§ 1227 General classes of deportable aliens
§ 1229a Removal proceedings
§ 1229b Cancellation of removal; adjustment of status
§ 1229c Voluntary departure
Part IX—Miscellaneous
§ 1367 Penalties for disclosure of information
§ 1375 Mail-order bride business
Pag e 8 GAO-04-353R Defense of Marriage Act
Chapter 14—Restricting Welfare and Public Benefits for Aliens
Subchapter IV—General Provisions
§ 1641 Definitions
Chapter 15—Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform
Subchapter V—Foreign Students and Exchange Visitors
§ 1761 Foreign student monitoring program
Title 19—Customs Duties
Chapter 24—Bipartisan Trade Promotion
§ 3805note United States—Chile Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
CATEGORY 7--INDIANS
Title 25—Indians
Chapter 18—Indian Health Care
Subchapter II—Health Services
§ 1621h Mental health services
Chapter 24—Indian Land Consolidation
§ 2206 Descent and distribution
§ 2216 Trust and restricted land transactions
Chapter 43—Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination
§ 4103 Definitions
Subchapter VIII—Housing Assistance for Native Hawaiians
§ 4221 Definitions
CATEGORY 8—TRADE, COMMERCE, AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Title 12—Banks and Banking
Chapter 13—National Housing
§ 1701q Supportive housing for the elderly
Subchapter II—Mortgage Insurance
§ 1707 Definitions
§ 1713 Rental housing insurance
§ 1715e Cooperative housing insurance
Chapter 17—Bank Holding Companies
§ 1841 Definitions
Chapter 31—National Consumer Cooperative Bank
Subchapter I—Establishment and Operation
§ 3015 Eligibility of cooperatives
Chapter 32—Foreign Bank Participation in Domestic Markets
§ 3106a Compliance with state and federal laws
Title 15—Commerce and Trade
Chapter 14A—Aid to Small Business
§ 632 Small business concern
Chapter 14B—Small Business Investment Program
Subchapter V—Loans to State and Local Development Companies
§ 696 Loans for plant acquisition, construction, conversion, and expansion
Chapter 41—Consumer Credit Protection
Subchapter IV—Equal Credit Opportunity
§ 1691 Scope of prohibition
Pag e 9
CATEGORY 9—FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Title 7—Agriculture
Chapter 50—Agricultural Credit
Subchapter VI—Delta Regional Authority
§ 2009aa-1 Delta Regional Authority
Subchapter VII—Northern Great Plains Regional Authority
§ 2009bb-1 Northern Great Plains Regional Authority
Subchapter IX—Rural Strategic Investment Program
§ 2009dd-3 National Board on rural America
CATEGORY 10—CRIMES AND FAMILY VIOLENCE
Title 18—Crimes and Criminal Procedure
Part I—Crimes
Chapter 46—Forfeiture
§ 983 General rules for civil forfeiture proceedings
Chapter 110A—Domestic Violence
§ 2261A Interstate stalking
Title 20
Chapter 28—Higher Education Resources and Student Assistance
Subchapter VIII—Miscellaneous
§ 1152 Grants to combat violent crimes against women on campuses
Title 28—Judiciary and Judicial Procedure
Part V—Procedure
Chapter 115—Evidence; Documentary
§ 1738C Certain acts, records, and proceedings and the effect thereof
Title 42—The Public Health And Welfare
Chapter 135—Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement
Subchapter III—Violence against Women
Subpart 3—Rural Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Enforcement
Part C—Civil Rights for Women
§ 13981 Civil rights
Part D—Equal Justice for Women in the Courts Act
Subpart 1—Education and Training for Judges and Court Personnel in State Courts
§ 13992 Training provided by grants
CATEGORY 11—LOANS, GUARANTEES, AND PAYMENTS IN AGRICULTURE
No new provisions in this category of statutes.
CATEGORY 12—FEDERAL NATURAL RESOURCES AND RELATED STATUTORY PROVISIONS
No new provisions in this category of statutes.
Pag e 10 GAO-04-353R Defense of Marriage Act
CATEGORY 13—MISCELLANEOUS STATUTORY PROVISIONS
Title 20—Education
Chapter 70—Strengthening and Improvement of Elementary and Secondary Schools
Subchapter II—Preparing, Training, and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals
Part C—Innovation for Teacher Quality
Subpart 1—Transition to Teaching
§ 6674 Participation agreement and financial assistance
Subchapter VII—Bilingual Education, Language Enhancement, and Language
Acquisition Programs
Part B—Native Hawaiian Education
§ 7512 Findings
Title 22—Foreign Relations and Intercourse
Chapter 75—Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation
Subchapter I—General Provisions
§ 6713 Civil liability of the United States
Pag e 11
APPENDIX 2
Tables of Statutory Provisions Identified in 1997 Report as Involving Marital Status
That Have Been Repealed or Amended to Remove Reference to Marital Status
Category 1—Social Security and Related Programs, Housing, and Food Stamps
Subject 1997 Statutory Citation Status
Regulations pertaining to
garnishments
42 U.S.C. §§661-662 Repealed by Pub. L. No. 104-193,
§ 362(b)(1), effective February 22,
1997, 110 Stat. 2246.
Category 3—Taxation
Subject 1997 Statutory Citation Status
Collapsible corporations 26 U.S.C. § 341 Repealed by Pub. L. No. 108-27,
§ 302(e), May 28, 2003, 117 Stat. 763.
Rollover of gain on sale of
principal residence
26 U.S.C. § 1034 Repealed by Pub. L. No. 105-34,
§ 312(b), Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 839.
Tax on excess distribution from
qualified retirement plans
26 U.S.C. § 4980A Repealed by Pub. L. No. 105-34,
§ 1073(a), Aug. 7, 1997, 111 Stat. 948.
Category 4—Federal Civilian and Military Service Benefits
Subject 1997 Statutory Citation Status
Employment of retired members of
the uniformed services; reduction
in retired or retainer pay
5 U.S.C. § 5532 Repealed by Pub. L. No. 106-65,
§ 651(a)(1), Oct. 1, 1999, 113 Stat. 664.
Assistance to separated members to
obtain certification and
employment as teachers or
employment as teachers’ aides
10 U.S.C. § 1151 Repealed by Pub. L. No. 106-655,
§ 1707(a)(1), Oct. 5, 1999, 113 Stat.
823.
Military child care employees 10 U.S.C. § 1792 Amended by Pub. L. No. 105-261,
§ 1106, Oct. 17, 1998, 112 Stat. 2142;
reference to marital status removed.
Job training partnership,
application of federal law
29 U.S.C. § 1706 Repealed by Pub. L. No. 105-220,
§ 199(b) (2), effective July 1, 2000, 112
Stat. 1059.
Rights, benefits, privileges, and
immunities; exercise of authority
of Secretary of Commerce or
designee (National Ocean Survey
employees)
33 U.S.C. § 857a Repealed by Pub. L. No. 107-372,
§ 271(2), Dec. 19, 2002, 116 Stat. 3094
and replaced with similar provisions that
omit any reference to marital status. See
33 U.S.C. 3071 (National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration
Commissioned Officer Corps - Rights
and benefits).
Pag e 12 GAO-04-353R Defense of Marriage Act
Category 5—Employment Benefits and Related Statutory Provisions
Subject 1997 Statutory Citation Status
Youth training program for the
disadvantaged
29 U.S.C. § 1644 Repealed by Pub. L. No. 105-220,
§ 199(b)(2), effective July 1, 2000, 112
Stat. 1059.
Job Corps—Allowances and
support
29 U.S.C. § 1699 Repealed by Pub. L. No. 105-220,
§ 199(b)(2), effective July 1, 2000, 112
Stat. 1059.
Labor market information 29 U.S.C. § 1752 Repealed by Pub. L. No. 105-220,
§ 199(b)(2), effective July 1, 2000, 112
Stat. 1059.
Category 6—Immigration, Naturalization, and Aliens
Subject 1997 Statutory Citation Status
Suspension of deportation of aliens 8 U.S.C. § 1251 Repealed by Pub. L. No. 104-208,
§ 308(b)(7), Sep. 30, 1996, 110 Stat.
3009-615.
Category 9—Financial Disclosure and Conflict of Interest
Subject 1997 Statutory Citation Status
Alternative Agricultural Research
and Commercialization
Corporation—Board of Directors,
Employees, and Facilities
7 U.S.C. § 5903 Repealed by Pub. L. No. 107-171,
§ 6201(a), May 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 418.
Category 10—Crimes and Family Violence
Subject 1997 Statutory Citation Status
Interstate violation of a protection
order
18 U.S.C. § 2262 Amended by Pub. L. 106-386, § 1107,
Oct. 28, 2000, 114 Stat. 1464; reference
to marital status removed.
Narcotic addict rehabilitation—
definitions
42 U.S.C. § 3411 Repealed by Pub. L. No. 106-310,
§ 3405(b), Oct. 17, 2000, 114 Stat.
1221.
Model state leadership grants for
domestic violence intervention
42 U.S.C. § 10415 Repealed by Pub. L. No. 108-36, § 410,
June 25, 2003, 117 Stat. 827.
Category 11—Loans, Guarantees, and Payments in Agriculture
Subject 1997 Statutory Citation Status
Paul Douglas Teaching
Scholarships—exceptions to
repayment provisions
20 U.S.C. § 1104g Amended by Pub. L. No. 105-244, §
501, October 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 1581;
reference to marital status removed.
Faculty Development Fellowship
Program—exceptions to repayment
provisions
20 U.S.C. § 1134r-5 Repealed by Pub. L. No. 105-244, §
701, October 7, 1998,112 Stat. 1581.
Pag e 13
Category 13—Miscellaneous Statutory Provisions
Subject 1997 Statutory Citation Status
Vocational education state plans 20 U.S.C. § 2323 Amended by Pub. L. No. 105-332, §
1(b), October 31, 1998,112 Stat. 3076;
reference to marital status removed.
Vocational education definitions 20 U.S.C. § 2471 Amended by Pub. L. No. 105-332, §
1(b), October 31, 1998, 112 Stat. 3076;
reference to marital status removed.
Agricultural Hall of Fame 36 U.S.C. § 977 Amended by Pub. L. No. 105-354, § 1,
Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 3238; reference
to marital status removed.
Audits of Federally Chartered
Corporations
36 U.S.C. § 1101 Amended by Pub. L. No. 105-225, § 1,
Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1253; reference
to marital status removed.
Gold Star Wives of America 36 U.S.C. § 1602 Amended by Pub. L. No. 105-225, § 1,
Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1253; replaced
provision’s reference to “gold wives”
with “corporation”. (The name of the
organization continues to be the Gold
Star Wives of America.)
Navy Wives Clubs of America 36 U.S.C. § 2802 Amended by Pub. L. No. 105-225, § 1,
Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1436; replaced
provision’s reference to “Navy Wives”
with “corporation”. (The name of the
organization continues to be the Navy
Wives Clubs of America.)
Aviation Hall of Fame 36 U.S.C. § 4307 and § 4309 Amended by Pub. L. No. 105-225, § 1,
Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1312. These
provisions’ references to “survivors”
were deleted.
Membership of Martin Luther
King, Jr., Federal Holiday
Commission
36 U.S.C. § 169j-3 Repealed by Pub. L. No. 105-225, § 6,
Aug. 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1253.
Testing and other early
intervention services for state
prisoners
42 U.S.C. § 300ff-48 Repealed by Pub. L. No. 106-345,
§ 301(a), Oct. 20, 2000, 114 Stat. 1345.
Programs for older Americans—
Demonstration projects
42 U.S.C. § 3035a Provision was omitted by Pub. L. No.
106-501, Nov. 13, 2001, 114 Stat. 2257.
Pag e 14 GAO-04-353R Defense of Marriage Act
APPENDIX 3
Tables of Statutory Provisions Identified in 1997 Report as Involving Marital
Status That Have Been Relocated in the United States Code
Category 1—Social Security and Related Programs, Housing, and Food Stamps
Subject 1997 Statutory Citation Status
Alien’s eligibility for benefits 42 U.S.C. § 615
Relocated to 42 U.S.C. § 608(f)
Category 2—Veterans’ Benefits
Subject 1997 Statutory Citation Status
Medical care for survivors and
dependents of certain veterans
38 U.S.C. § 1713 Relocated to 38 U.S.C. § 1781
Category 4—Federal Civilian and Military Service Benefits
Subject 1997 Statutory Citation Status
House of Representatives Child
Care Center
40 U.S.C. § 184g
Relocated to 2 U.S.C. § 2062
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration commissary
privileges
33 U.S.C. § 857-4 Relocated to 33 U.S.C. § 3074
Gratuities for survivors of deceased
House employees; computation
40 U.S.C. § 166b-4
Relocated to 2 U.S.C. § 125
Senate employee child care
benefits
40 U.S.C. § 214d Relocated to 2 U.S.C. § 2063
Category 5—Employment Benefits and Related Statutory Provisions
Subject 1997 Statutory Citation Status
Job training partnership—
definitions
29 U.S.C. § 1503 Relocated to 29 U.S.C. § 2801
Category 6—Immigration, Naturalization, and Aliens
Subject 1997 Statutory Citation Status
Deportable aliens 8 U.S.C. § 1251 Relocated to 8 U.S.C. § 1227
Category 7—Indians
Subject 1997 Statutory Citation Status
Indian land consolidation—
Descent and distribution
25 U.S.C. § 2205 Relocated to 25 U.S.C. § 2206
Pag e 15
Category 9—Financial Disclosure and Conflict of Interest
Subject 1997 Statutory Citation Status
Appalachian Regional
Commission—personal financial
interests
40 U.S.C. § 108 Relocated to 40 U.S.C. § 14309
Category 10—Crimes and Family Violence
Subject 1997 Statutory Citation Status
Family violence prevention and
Services—definitions
40 U.S.C. § 10408 Relocated to 40 U.S.C. § 10421
Category 13—Miscellaneous Statutory Provisions
Subject 1997 Statutory Citation Status
Marine Corps League 36 U.S.C. § 57a Relocated to chapter 2301
§ 140102
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the
United States
36 U.S.C. § 113 Relocated to chapter 2301
§ 230102
Legion of Valor of the United
States of America
36 U.S.C. § 633 Relocated to chapter 1303
§ 130302
Veterans of World War I of the
United States of America
36 U.S.C. § 763 Relocated to chapter 2303
§ 230302
The Congressional Medal of Honor
Society of the United States
36 U.S.C. § 793 and § 799 Relocated to chapter 405
§ 40502 and § 40506
Blinded Veterans Association 36 U.S.C. § 859 Relocated to chapter 303
§ 30307
National Woman’s Relief Corps,
Auxiliary to the Grand Army of the
Republic
36 U.S.C. § 1005 Relocated to chapter 1537
§ 153703
Gold Star Wives of America
36 U.S.C. § 1601 Relocated to chapter 805
§ 80502
American Ex-Prisoners of War 36 U.S.C. § 2103 Relocated to chapter 209
§ 20903
Catholic War Veterans of the
United States of America, Inc.
36 U.S.C. § 2603 Relocated to chapter 401
§ 40103
Navy Wives Clubs of America 36 U.S.C. §2801 and § 2803
Relocated to chapter 1545, § 154502
and §154503.
Army and Navy Union of the
United States
36 U.S.C. § 3903 Relocated to chapter 229
§ 22903
Non-Commissioned Officers
Association of the United States
36 U.S.C. § 4003 Relocated to chapter 1547
§ 4003
Retired Enlisted Association,
Incorporated
36 U.S.C. § 5103 Relocated to chapter 1903
§ 190303
National Fallen Firefighters
Foundation
36 U.S.C. § 5201 Relocated to Chapter 1513
§ 151302
Public Health Service grants for
services of substance abusers
42 U.S.C. § 280d Relocated to 42 U.S.C. § 290bb-25
Programs for older Americans—
state plans
42 U.S.C. § 3035 Relocated to 42 U.S.C. § 3027
Pag e 16 GAO-04-353R Defense of Marriage Act
APPENDIX 4
CATEGORIES OF STATUTORY PROVISIONS
CATEGORY 1—SOCIAL SECURITY AND RELATED PROGRAMS, HOUSING,
AND
FOOD STAMPS
This category includes the major federal health and welfare programs, particularly those
considered entitlements, such as Social Security retirement and disability benefits, food
stamps, welfare, and Medicare and Medicaid. Most of these provisions are found in Title 42
of the United States Code, Public Health and Welfare; food stamp legislation is in Title 7,
Agriculture.
CATEGORY 2—VETERANS' BENEFITS
Veterans' benefits, which are codified in Title 38 of the United States Code, include pensions,
indemnity compensation for service-connected deaths, medical care, nursing home care, right
to burial in veterans' cemeteries, educational assistance, and housing. Husbands or wives of
veterans have many rights and privileges by virtue of the marital relationship.
CATEGORY 3—TAXATION
While the distinction between married and unmarried status is pervasive in federal tax law,
terms such as "husband," "wife," or "married" are not defined. However, marital status
figures in federal tax law in provisions as basic as those giving married taxpayers the option
to file joint or separate income tax returns. It is also seen in the related provisions prescribing
different tax consequences, depending on whether a taxpayer is married filing jointly,
married filing separately, unmarried but the head of a household, or unmarried and not the
head of a household.
CATEGORY 4—FEDERAL CIVILIAN AND MILITARY SERVICE BENEFITS
This category includes statutory provisions dealing with current and retired federal officers
and employees, members of the Armed Forces, elected officials, and judges, in which marital
status is a factor. Typically these provisions address the various health, leave, retirement,
survivor, and insurance benefits provided by the United States to those in federal service and
their families.
CATEGORY 5—EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS AND RELATED PROVISIONS
Marital status comes into play in many different ways in federal laws relating to employment
in the private sector. Most provisions appear in Title 29 of the United States Code, Labor.
Pag e 17
However, others are in Title 30, Mineral Lands and Mining; Title 33, Navigation and
Navigable Waters; and Title 45, Railroads. This category includes laws that address the
rights of employees under employer-sponsored employee benefit plans; that provide for
continuation of employer-sponsored health benefits after events like the death or divorce of
the employee; and that give employees the right to unpaid leave in order to care for a
seriously ill spouse. In addition, Congress has extended special benefits in connection with
certain occupations, like mining and public safety.
CATEGORY 6—IMMIGRATION, NATURALIZATION, AND ALIENS
This category includes federal statutory provisions governing the conditions under which
noncitizens may enter and remain in the United States, be deported, or become citizens. Most
are found in Title 8, Aliens and Nationality. The law gives special consideration to spouses
of immigrant and nonimmigrant aliens in a wide variety of circumstances. Under
immigration law, aliens may receive special status by virtue of their employment, and that
treatment may extend to their spouses. Also, spouses of aliens granted asylum can be given
the same status if they accompany or join their spouses.
.
CATEGORY 7—INDIANS
The indigenous peoples of the United States have long had a special legal relationship with
the federal government through treaties and laws that are classified to Title 25, Indians.
Various laws set out the rights to tribal property of “white” men marrying “Indian” women,
or of “Indian” women marrying “white” men. The law also outlines the descent and
distribution rights for Indians’ property. In addition, there are laws pertaining to health care
eligibility for Indians and spouses and reimbursement of travel expenses of spouses and
candidates seeking positions in the Indian Health Service.
CATEGORY 8—TRADE, COMMERCE, AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
This category includes provisions concerning foreign or domestic business and commerce, in
the following titles of the United States Code: Bankruptcy, Title 11; Banks and Banking,
Title
12; Commerce and Trade, Title 15; Copyrights, Title 17; and Customs Duties, Title 19. This
category also includes the National Housing Act (rights of mortgage borrowers); the
Consumer Credit Protection Act (governs wage garnishment); and the Copyright Act
(spousal copyright renewal and termination rights).
CATEGORY 9—FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Federal law imposes obligations on members of Congress, employees or officers of the
federal government, and members of the boards of directors of some government-related or
government chartered entities, to prevent actual or apparent conflicts of interest. These
individuals are required to disclose publicly certain gifts, interests, and transactions. Many of
Pag e 18 GAO-04-353R Defense of Marriage Act
these requirements, which are found in 16 different titles of the United States Code, apply
also to the individual's spouse.
CATEGORY 10—CRIMES AND FAMILY VIOLENCE
This category includes laws that implicate marriage in connection with criminal justice or
family violence. The nature of these provisions varies greatly. Some deal with spouses as
victims of crimes, others with spouses as perpetrators. These laws are found primarily in
Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, but some statutory provisions, dealing with crime
prevention and family violence, are in Title 42, Public Health and Welfare.
CATEGORY 11—LOANS, GUARANTEES, AND PAYMENTS IN AGRICULTURE
Under many federal loan programs, a spouse's income, business interests, or assets are taken
into account for purposes of determining a person's eligibility to participate in the program.
In other instances, marital status is a factor in determining the amount of federal assistance to
which a person is entitled or the repayment schedule. This category includes education loan
programs, housing loan programs for veterans, and provisions governing agricultural price
supports and loan programs that are affected by the spousal relationship.
CATEGORY 12—FEDERAL NATURAL RESOURCES AND RELATED
PROVISIONS
Federal law gives special rights to spouses in connection with a variety of transactions
involving federal lands and other federal property. These transactions include purchase and
sale of land by the federal government and lease by the government of water and mineral
rights.
CATEGORY 13—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
This category comprises federal statutory provisions that do not fit readily in any of the other
12 categories. Federal provisions that prohibit discrimination on the basis of marital status
are included in this category. This category also includes various patriotic societies chartered
in federal law, such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars or the Gold Star Wives of America.
Ⓐ Steve Ⓐ

Sunday, March 24, 2013

The Marriage License, What Is It Good For?


Since when do more subsidies lead to abolishment of handouts?

A followup to this.

Looks like Colorado removed a bit of adultery legislation from the books.  Does it now mean that marriage licenses are an official statement that two people are committed to each other, except when they are fooling around with others?  No, not at all.  It is not even about that context of adultery, it is about adultery by people not married to each other:
The legislation that Gov. John Hickenlooper signed Friday removes what Democratic bill sponsors say is an outdated 19-century statute. The bill also would repeal the rarely-used law of contributing to “sexual immorality” by providing a place, such as a hotel room, for unmarried people to have sex.
A few learned souls have taken to ‘school’ me on why it is so gosh-darn important to “allow” 4% of the US population to tell various governments that they are forever monogamously coupled, rather than removing the "requirement" from the remaining population.  "Forever" being defined as: Until they hire a lawyer or two to seek permission from various governments to decouple and invite the bureaucracy in to redistribute their property.

An overt reason (seems to be a prevailing one) given by a libertarian for licensing was forwarded by a Richard fellow, who said on this blog, March 21, 2013 at 2:33 PM:
Regardless of benefits, penalties, or whatever, individuals in society generally regard the state marriage license as the official statement that two people are committed to each other. I do not agree with this, but am simply stating the fact.
Sorry pal, no dice.  This is no libertarian position at all. It is a statist and, quite frankly, collectivist position.  Seeking permission from the government that two people are committed to each other is simply ridiculous.  It is like seeking recognition from the state to be in a motorcycle club.  It is not a “regardless of benefits” issue either, it is all about the “benefits” for having an official marriage certificate.

Members in our society have been conditioned to believe that marriage comes from government, just like they think that is where wealth comes from too.  Marriage did not begin with government and a quick Googling will reveal that.  Even WikiPedia has plenty of commentary linked to good sources on the topic.
The banns of marriage, commonly known simply as the "banns" or "bans" (from a Middle English word meaning "proclamation," rooted in Frankish and from there to Old French[1]) are the public announcement in a Christian parish church of an impending marriage between two specified persons. It is commonly associated with the Church of England and with other denominations whose traditions are similar; the Roman Catholic Church abolished the requirement in 1983.
And from this nifty, and creatively titled WikiPedia page “Marriage license; History” (hard to miss, eh?):
“The original Catholic Canon law on the subject, intended to prevent clandestine marriages, was decreed in Canon 51 of the Lateran IV Council in 1215; until then, the public announce in church of marriages to be contracted was only done in some areas. [2]
Things went on this way until governments got into the game with marriage licenses, over four hundred years later:
“Marriage licenses have been required since 1639 in Massachusetts, with their use gradually expanding to other jurisdictions.[2] These prohibitions have changed throughout history. In the 1920s, they were used by 38 states to prohibit whites from marrying blacks, mulattos, Japanese, Chinese, Indians, Mongolians, Malays or Filipinos without a state approved license. At least 32 nations have established significant prohibitions on same-sex marriage.[3]
Oddly, many nations have other restrictions not mentioned in that article can be found elsewhere, like the US prohibition on polygamy, handed down by the federal government in the following acts:
Edmunds Act (1882)

Edmunds-Tucker was not repealed until 1978, over a century after church property was seized by federal marshals, the people affected were dead, and to this day none of these marriage licensing do-gooders are advocating that this lifestyle become recognized by any government.  Polygamy is still illegal in every State and is prosecuted.  What adult homosexual couples are going to jail for cohabitating?  What homosexual communes are being raided and locked up?  If you find one, let me know.  Utah and Texas are still locking up polygamists, even if they have to dream up a way to make them polygamists with legal trickery like constructive marriage.

Note that I do not practice or advocate polygamy, yet I do not want to jail those who do.  I am actually advocating equality here, and the only way to make it all legal is to end the licenses.

Even worse, States across the Republic license solemnizers to perform marriages.  If you are not on those rolls, might not be a big deal if you perform a marriage not recognized by the State.  It simply stays in the ‘bizarre’ world of unrecognized marriage.  However, if people come to you with a marriage license and you “marry” them, there could be all sorts of trouble in store for you for marrying people without a license.

The marriage license libertarians seem perfectly content with unlicensed parsons going to the slammer, but raise Holy Hell if someone with a viable marijuana seed is locked up.  I find both intolerable.

They also seem in a tizzy that homosexual couples can only get married-by-license in a few States right now, yet they can live together monogamously, or in groups, in every State without any more legal risk to property or liberty than heterosexuals. Unfortunately for all those "shacking up" together, and the statist faction of the libertarian movement, each individual is only entitled to entitlements attached to their name and their means, not that of anybody else. Oh the humanity!

Another issue is if a licensed solemnizer marries people who do not have the proper paperwork.  He can be fined or jailed for that infraction.  Now the ‘libertarian’ position is to increase this?  Not this libertarian.

Earlier in his comment, Richard states this (referring to their Daily Caller article):
Like my colleague Chuck, I would prefer the government to be extracted from all licenses, including marriage licenses. The Overton Window (link added by me), however, is not yet open enough to achieve this, so the libertarian maxim to follow is equal treatment under law.
If equal treatment under the law were the objective, then all combinations of marriage would be included.  The spectrum of matrimony is much wider than individual pairs of people.  There is no advocacy in their article, nor in Richard’s responses for equal treatment of all people under the law.  No, this is simply pandering to a vocal minority who want to expand government handouts, those handed out through marriage certificates.

Also, in every other subject, libertarians are quick to point out the history of why things are unjust, like in the area of keeping and bearing arms, or to ingest into your one body whatever you like.  Is any history ever brought up in the latest round of marriage license expansion?  Sure, they skip the beginning and jump to the part where Black people were prohibited from licensed marriage to Whites.  They leave out Asians, and they conveniently skip how licensing came about to begin with, then skip to the lie of how homosexuals are the only ones taking it in the shorts over marriage licensing.

They also leave out some of the inconvenient truths of licensed marriage.  The easy to find “presumption of paternity” issue comes to mind without even trying:
Presumption of paternity in common law is the legal determination that a man is "presumed to be" a child's biological father without additional supportive evidence, usually as a result of marriage.
What this also means in much of America, is that the closest male named on the paperwork of a mother is the “father,” especially in the Progressive enclave of California:
Presumption of Paternity – Biology Does Not Control: The Case of Neil S. v. Mary L.
In the State of California, biology does not necessarily determine the paternity of a child. In fact, men can be deemed to be the legal fathers of children as long as a presumption of paternity applies–even if later it is proven that the legal father is not the biological father.
In this case, a married woman had an affair and became pregnant.  The biological father went to court for his parental rights and was refused because the presumption of paternity was given to Mary L’s legal husband.

And it is not like this issue is not in the high-profile celebrity and sports news either, with Michael Jordan in a Georgia paternity suit, claiming in his “defense” that someone else was married to the mother when the child, allegedly produced by Jordan, was born.

This is what the statist, marriage license pushing ‘libertarians’ want to continue?

Near the end, Richard writes:
It is my choice today to lobby for those special privileges to be repealed. I argue this on moral, legal, and ideological grounds. Some day in the future, I believe libertarians will have a better chance of removing the state from consensual contractual agreements if every adult couple being harmed by state marriage regulation can stand against it together. (I will add I believe that day is far, far in the future.)
Again, they are not arguing for everybody who wants to be married, since there is no call to recognize the Muslim four wife limit, or anything other than same sex monogamous marriage.  But it makes perfect sense if your solution to ending welfare is to hand it out to even more people, which is neither moral nor (libertarian) ideological.

Some day in the future we might have a secure border too, like Rand Paul advocates. But if your first step is opening it wider, it draws some skepticism to your claim to want to secure it. Similarly, if you want to end special privileges, arguing to expand them reveals you as a fraud at worst and quite confused at best.

It could certainly be legal, just pass a law for more government handouts.  We already have 95%+ of the country eligible for marriage licenses, yet millions choose not to get them and forgo the government subsidies associated with legal marriage, yet these vocal libertarians ignore them and concentrate on expanding the handouts.

And please, for the love of English, please stop calling licenses and handouts "rights."

Since when do more subsidies lead to abolishment?

Ⓐ Steve Ⓐ