The Hamlet Project

There are some things that are laws that just seem weird. Like – why do we have marriage laws? Why is the law involved in love? Why do you have to go get an official document to get officially married? Why do you need to be officially married? Like – for the IRS, I guess? I don’t know why there are benefits for married people. I guess because they tend to make children? And we want to make sure they’re provided for officially? It just seems weird to legislate people’s relationships.
I’m not a libertarian – there are many many laws that make total sense to me. Laws that help us take better care of each other, for example. Laws that provide for children. Laws that guide us to treat our fellow citizens with respect – that prevent us from yielding to our baser instincts. But marriage laws are baffling to me.