SHOULD STATES ABOLISH MARRIAGE--CIVIL MARRIAGE, THAT IS?

Readers of this blog may be interested in a debate about civil marriage that was took place this past week over at Legal Affairs.  The two debaters:  Mary Lynn Shanley, professor of political science at Vassar College, and Linda McClain, professor of law at Hofstra University.  Here is Legal Affairs' introduction to the debate:

Marriage comes with legal benefits, like the right to visit a partner in the hospital. Opening civil unions to same-sex partners would offer such legal benefits to homosexual couples, while reserving the word "marriage" for unions between heterosexuals. But some people suggest that, instead, the state should do away with marriage as a legal category altogether and adopt a universal system of civil unions open to all couples, while leaving marriage to churches, mosques, and synagogues.

Should states abolish marriage?

To print out and/or read the debate, click here.
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Michael P.