The State Legal Battle of Marriage Is Over

It's over.

  The US Supreme Court is set to clean up the few remaining marriage law cases which don't yet solemnize homosexual "marriage".  Oklahoma's constitutional amendment was struck down by a lower court last year, and the SCOTUS is fine to let that stand without so much as a courtesy hearing.

  The reason for this final act is that a Court Of Appeals didn't rule the way SCOTUS expected, so they are in all likelihood, going to put a stop to those prohibitions, directly.

A New State Strategy - Get Rid Of The Word

For folks of faith who believe that marriage is a sacrament, the best workable public policy may be a complete rescinding of the marriage license.

Folks could simply file a notice of covenant at their county clerks office (as common-law filings have been handled).

  The word "marriage" would be removed from state statutes, and replaced with something like "domestic partnership".

  Libertarians have long argued that marriage is a basic right of man and no government has a moral right to grant permission (a license is de-facto permission). Filing a domestic partnership would still carry all the state sanctioning and safeguards. Dissolving the domestic partnership would still require family court oversight.

  But it would leave the term "marriage" as a religious rite. Folks would still follow their convictions and church teachings. Ceremonies would still be unchanged. But the state would only need a notarized signature to the form, and not a licensed judge or clergy. The "oaths" are in the document. But instead of 2 trips to the courthouse, one stop after the ceremony would suffice. All other business partnerships are handled this way. The state is no longer granting a permission (license) but acknowledging that they have been informed of the partnership.

David Van Risseghem

  All federal & state recognitions would attach to the new state classification. Federal law leaves all marriage certifications up to the states.

 This might be the best solution to respect everyone's personal convictions and yet grant a consistent process for personal covenant agreements. We will all let the state know we entered a partnership, but we will respect each person's convictions on what constitutes the definition of marriage.