All legal marriages are civil legal contacts between two people

[Peacetrain]

All marriages are in essence civil unions. Now marriages blessed in a church, totally different ball of wax.

I am all for any two people, gay,straight, ever hue and color (not that many years ago, you could not have that civil contract if you were of different races.)to be able to enter that union of trust we call marriage.

States choose how to run their legal contracts of marriage.

Some states you can join quickly, others have a waiting period. It is one of the provinces of state government.

One of the reasons it is important for there to be a recognition of contracts of civil union, across all state lines is the ability to divorce, and child custody etc. You can marry in one state, but if you move to another that does not have a recognition of the civil contract, then you have all these issues, that cannot be dealt with.

As a heterosexual married woman, I hope we can help get that recognition through all the United States of a civil contract of union so those rights can be upheld anywhere for anyone, not just the couple of states that recognize it now. There are legal rights of survivorship, inheritance, just common decency of recognizing the humanity of another person all wrapped up in this.

As far as the religious recognition of marriage, that has no governmental input. Again that is a whole different ball of wax that no politician has any input in it.

[Betsy Ross]

1. I am so for getting the state out of marriage

and only let them have any authority over contracts. My husband and I had a religious wedding without a license. Several years later we took out a license for financial reasons. Two entirely separate matters. Let's make it that way for all people. Contracts can be entered into by adults, with no specification of gender.