Same-sex marriage linked to decline in teen suicides
The national conversation on this topic is entirely wrong.  The supreme court has clearly stated a number of times over the the years (<a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;afer.org&#x2F;blog&#x2F;14-supreme-court-cases-marriage-is-a-fundamental-right&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;afer.org&#x2F;blog&#x2F;14-supreme-court-cases-marriage-is-a-fu...</a>) that marriage is a fundamental right.  So what we should be asking the government is if it&#x27;s a fundamental right, why do we require a license to get married?  Fundamental rights are not supposed to require anything to exercise since we derive them not from the government but from our mere existence as human beings.<p>I don&#x27;t require a license to exercise my right to free speech and publish something online or create a film.  I don&#x27;t have to apply for a license to practice religion.  Why the hell do I need permission from the government to get married, especially when such a ceremony (for most people) is a religious one?  Sure, some people go to the justice of the peace to get married.  But nearly everyone has a religious ceremony or they hire a neutral officiant (or have someone they know get ordained).<p>Historically marriage has always been a religious ceremony.  If we want to deem it something else, I&#x27;m fine with that.  We can still allow people to get married and not have the government be involved.  Why can&#x27;t we just decide who we are going to get married to, and simply fill out some paperwork to declare (not ask permission) ourselves married and notify the government of our status change.<p>Asking permission is obscene and defeats the entire purpose of declaring it a &quot;fundamental right&quot;.