Chris Jones

Philosophy 1120
Alexander Izrailevsky
November 25, 2014
Is Marriage Just a Piece of Paper?
Is marriage really just a piece of paper? Can the entirety of marriage be summarized
with such a simple and common phrase? I would disagree and argue that marriage is much
more than a piece of paper in almost every way, and because of marriages significance in
everyday life, gay and lesbian couples should have the right to marry one another as well as
any other rights and benefits traditional married couples have.
The saying marriage is just a piece of paper is a common everyday saying most of
us have heard. The meaning of that phrase is very simple, stating that a piece of paper
cannot possess any meaning to explain or legalize love between two individuals. According
to google, the definition for marriage is: The legally or formally recognized union of a man
and a woman (or in some jurisdictions, two people of the same sex) as partners in a
relationship. This definition is representative of most marriages in the United States;
however I personally would prefer the definition to be: The legally or formally recognized
union of two individuals as partners in a relationship.
So what actually makes marriage, marriage? How is it different from any other
relationship we as people may encounter? A fundamental part of marriage is that it is
legally recognized. If it wasnt important for marriage to be legally recognized, then there
would be a smaller amount of gay couples actively protesting for the right to marry. These

legal rights dramatically affect the other aspects of the marriage. Once a couple is married
they are recognized as legal and financial partners. A married couple being legally
recognized as a financial unit is an especially important aspect when distinguishing between
marriage and other types of relationships. This also means that unless otherwise expressed
in a prenuptial agreement or other written form of consensual agreement, most of the
possessions have shared ownership by both individuals in the marriage.
Marriage is also different from traditional relationships because the two people
involved in the marriage are legally bound for life with the exception of extreme
circumstances. In non-marriage relationships, the people involved in the relationship can
choose to end it at any point in time, and with the exception of some possible emotional
distress, there are little to no lasting consequences. However, if a married couple files for
divorce there are generally varying court fees to pay, the possessions of the two individuals
must be divided up between them, and that is just the beginning. If they bought a house
together, there must be a decision as to who gets the house, and if children are involved
then the former couple has to come to a legally binding agreement on who has legal
possession of the children, and how much time with the children each parent is allotted.
Some of these difficulties may arise out of non-married couples who have been together for
a long time, but not all of the consequences of ending a marriage are applicable to the same
degree when ending even a long-term relationship.
Marriage also grants an individual rights to their spouse should they become
deceased. These rights include the rights to the deceased spouses possessions, including

but not limited to: House, money, and other possessions the deceased spouse owned.
While the amount of these possessions the surviving spouse has rights to differs from state
to state, there are some form of rights to deceased spouses possessions in all states. In a
non-marital relationship, if one of the individuals in the relationship should die, the
surviving individual in the relationship has no rights their deceased partners possessions
regardless of how long they had been together. Married couples also have the right to bury
the remains of their deceased spouse. If a persons spouse dies, the surviving spouse has
the right to make decisions about the funeral, as well as decide how to bury the body.
Unfortunately, this right does not extend to individuals who are not married.
While no actual laws apply to whether or not a father receives custody of his kids in
the event of the relationship ending, a father is more likely to have custody of his kids in the
event of divorce than a break-up. Traditionally a woman will have the rights to the child and
there are many cases of a fathers child being adopted shortly after it was born. This
happens because out of wedlock, a father has 30 days to request for custody of the child
and if he doesnt apply during the allotted time he generally loses custody. There have been
many court cases involving the removal of children from unwed fathers including the
famous court case Stanley v. Illinois in 1972. The only certain way to maintain parental
rights of children unfortunately is to have children in wedlock.
Married couples also have the right to report that they are married when they are
doing their taxes. This grants a married couple the ability to truly function as a financial
unit, instead of merely combining their incomes. Much of the time, when married couples

file taxes jointly, they get put into a different tax bracket and are more likely to receive a tax
bonus than if they had files separately, and while I do not agree with people receiving a
larger tax bonus simply because they are married, the likelihood of receiving a larger tax
bonus still remains a significant distinction between married and unmarried couples.
Unmarried couples cannot file their taxes together, and must report that they are single
when they do them. When a person reports that they are married while they are
completing their W-2, that person also has money taken out per paycheck than a single
person with the same income before taxes.
Marriage is much more than a piece of paper because of these rights and benefits.
Even without children, a married couple possess a significantly greater amount of rights and
privileges than a non-married couple. This doesnt mean that couples who choose not to
get married are worse than married couples in any way, it only means that there is a
significant difference between married and unmarried couples. Because of this significant
difference, gay and lesbian couples should have the right to marry.
Denying gay and lesbian couples the right to marry is the removal of their
fundamental rights. It is not moral to deny marriage based upon gender, which is protected
against discrimination. Homosexual couples should have the right to bury their dead
spouse, raise their children, and experience any tax benefits or deficits at their choosing.
The argument that marriage should be restricted to a man and a woman should not be
validated, because so many of the benefits do not depend upon whether a person is a man
or a woman. Each individual in a marriage has equal rights, and equal opportunities, leaving

no room for the arguing that a man and a woman must play different roles in a civil
marriage.
The definition of marriage and marriage itself is evolving as we as a country begin to
recognize new human rights. Many people find themselves uncomfortable with these
changes, however being uncomfortable is not an excuse for discrimination.

Le, Tai Phi, Birth Fathers + Adoptions: Inequality in Parental Rights. DC Bar. February 2014.
http://www.dcbar.org
Google Dictionary. Accessed October 2014. www.google.com
Unmarried Couples and Property Basics. Find Law. Accessed October 2014.
http://family.findlaw.com
Taxation and the Family: What are marriage penalties and bonuses?. Tax Policy Center.
Accesses October 2014. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org