You mean there are actually laws concerning marriage?

Marriage license ... looks antiquated

I was reading an article the other day on the internet and discovered that there are many rules and laws in the United States concerning who you can and can't marry. Did you now that each of the states have rules about how old you have to be to get married? These rules differ by state, though. Most states require you to be 18 to get married but, you can marry at a younger age if you can get your parents to agree. In Massachusetts, you can get married as a 7th grader (12 years old) if your parents agree. I don't think you can marry your homeroom teacher though because that would violate a rule about teachers having "relations" with students.

Apparently there are also laws concerning marriage between family members that vary by state. No state lets you marry your brother or sister. Several states let you marry your first cousin and/ or your first cousin once removed (the state of Maine requires betrothed cousins to attend genetic testing and counseling so they will understand the risks of this kind of human inbreeding.) Contrary to common opinion (and lots of jokes), it's not primarily the southern states that allow these "family affairs." By the way, your first cousin once removed is the child of your first cousin as in my mother's brother's son's daughter. Second cousins? Fair game in all 50 states.

I read a post by someone named Liz who asks the question "why can't I marry my brother?" Now, I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree but, I think her post was written as satire. I don't think she really wants to marry her brother but, she makes some pretty good arguments about why it should be OK. She claims that both she and her brother are sterile so the possibility of ever reproducing does not exist because it isn't physically possible (but they could always adopt.) She claims that she is madly in love with him  (and not just in a sisterly way) and wants them to live as a married couple. She has a good job with health insurance...her brother is unemployed and has none. If they could get married, she could add him onto her healthcare plan. She obviously loves her brother very much and knows that many people find that kind of brother/sister love offensive and morally wrong but she doesn't see why someone else's moral beliefs should hinder her from enjoying all the marriage liberties that non-sibling marriages have. There must be thousands of other sibling couples out there (some say it could be 10-12% of the population...I think that's exaggerated) that would love to get married but those antiquated marriage laws are discriminatory. Years ago, they kept their feeling towards each other a secret from others because so many people would be offended or would think it was wrong. Haters.

Did you know that Brigham Young isn't just the name of a university? I should have realized that the school was named after an actual person. Brigham Young was a very famous Mormon who led his band of fellow Mormons out west to Utah to escape the religious persecution they experienced in places like Ohio. I know there is an HBO series about another marriage issue but I thought it was just a fictional, made for TV thing. Did you know that at one time, Mormons were in favor of having multiple wives and many actually did? I know from reading the Bible that others did this a long time ago. Solomon had lots of wives I think. In the United States, we have laws that prohibit having multiple spouses. Some Mormons secretly do have multiple wives and would love to be able to come out about it. I don't really understand why a guy would want more than one wife. Don't get me wrong, I love my wife very much but... good grief, the thought of having two of them? or more? Geesh!

Why is it against the law though to have more than one wife or husband? Has it always been this way? Who cares how many wives you have? I had a truck driver that worked for me many years ago who was rumored to have two wives in different cities and children from both wives. Since he was on the road most of the time I guess his "home" could be anywhere without anyone being suspicious. I guess as long as he is a good husband, father, and provider, some could argue that he is doing something pretty worthy. Why should we judge? Why all these rules?

Here are some other marriage rules:

Marriage by proxy. Four states allow a couple to be married by having a proxy stand in for the ceremony. If your groom-to-be is in the U.S. Armed Forces and can't be present for the ceremony, someone else can stand in for the marriage ceremony. In Montana, both the military bride and military groom can have stand-ins. That wedding photo album is probably a waste of money though.

In Kentucky a woman cannot marry the same man 4 times. You know.... marry Harlan, divorce Harlan, marry Harlan, divorce Harlan, marry Harlan, divorce Harlan.....marry Harlan again? Nope...go marry your cousin.

In South Carolina it is a crime for a man over the age of 16 to propose to a woman and not mean it. It is a misdemeanor under the Offenses Against Morality and Decency Act....and, it's downright mean anyway.

In New Orleans it is illegal for palm readers, fortune tellers and mystics to perform marriage ceremonies. Now, let's think about this one...wouldn't it make sense for people that know our futures to be the best judges of whether we should get married? And they wouldn't have to ask all those pesky questions..."do you promise to...? because wouldn't they already know the answer?

And, for heaven's sake, don't have a palm reader perform the ceremony while you marry your brother (for the 4th time) and your 11 year old first cousin at Chick fil-A. That would just be wrong (and probably against their corporate policy.)

Marriage...