I can't quite see why people who want the same rights as married couples shouldn't just get married
A fundamental disagreement with the way civil marriage is based heavily on Christian ideas of marriage? The way Civil Partnership just Isn't Quite The Same? The way the government is no-way-no-how going to let me marry three men and them marry other people and so on and so forth (there are, er, about 10 of us) even if we all wanted to be committed in that way (which I'm not saying we do)?
There's nothing to stop me writing any sort of contract I please with anyone I please (so long as it does not require the parties to it to commit any offence) - that's not the same as saying that I'll be able to go to court and have our contract enforced; it's not the same as saying that when I'm seriously ill my parents won't be contacted against my wishes... it's not even the same as saying that my obnoxious parents couldn't contest my will so that they get my money (if they were mean enough) when I die.
I think what I'd prefer is that everyone who wants to write such a contract be allowed (and provided legal aid for, if they are poor) to do so and that all such contracts be enforced; perhaps the government might offer tax incentives for including particular clauses in your contract - but I'm not very much in favour of that (I am in favour of giving the custodial parent(s) of children tax breaks but not in a way connected to the married-ness of the parents).
I note that I don't actually object to the idea of people being able to form contracts which grant each other rights, as I said above. I just don't see why cohabiting couples should be given extra rights automatically. Either make a contract by getting married, or make a contract outside marriage. But if you want *exactly* the same rights as married people just get married dammit.
Automatic wossnames would be impossible I think - you'd have to at least declare that you were 'cohabiting' (rather than house-sharing). I think lots of people want some (or even all) of the rights associated with marriage (some of which are handed out by the government at present and not available to unmarried people) without the baggage that comes with marriage.
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(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-26 01:46 pm (UTC)A fundamental disagreement with the way civil marriage is based heavily on Christian ideas of marriage? The way Civil Partnership just Isn't Quite The Same? The way the government is no-way-no-how going to let me marry three men and them marry other people and so on and so forth (there are, er, about 10 of us) even if we all wanted to be committed in that way (which I'm not saying we do)?
There's nothing to stop me writing any sort of contract I please with anyone I please (so long as it does not require the parties to it to commit any offence) - that's not the same as saying that I'll be able to go to court and have our contract enforced; it's not the same as saying that when I'm seriously ill my parents won't be contacted against my wishes... it's not even the same as saying that my obnoxious parents couldn't contest my will so that they get my money (if they were mean enough) when I die.
I think what I'd prefer is that everyone who wants to write such a contract be allowed (and provided legal aid for, if they are poor) to do so and that all such contracts be enforced; perhaps the government might offer tax incentives for including particular clauses in your contract - but I'm not very much in favour of that (I am in favour of giving the custodial parent(s) of children tax breaks but not in a way connected to the married-ness of the parents).
(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-26 02:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-07-26 03:06 pm (UTC)