Marriage, to license or not to license that is the question?

Many are discussing the issue of same sex marriage, however like with many things in law it’s misunderstood. By the time you finish reading this article there will no longer be a single person in any right mind will ever want to get a license to marry. This goes for all no matter sexual preference.

Today currently nine states (Countries) within the Union that recognize same sex marriage and have amended their local Constitutions. This is not a bad thing as many know citizens without status have no access to their true and proper constitution as it represents the Republic or Common law. Since the beginning of the Union we have had what is referred to as the Common Law Marriage this predates the 14th Amendment.

The alteration of states constitutions is at this level of common law marriage being recognized; nothing more and it will allow or open the door for same sex couples to get a legally recognized license to marry. My question to you is why would you ever want one?

After reading the information to follow and you still answer YES to wanting a license then so be it, at least you will understand fully the contract you are entering into, yes it is a contract. Remember also what privilege/permission a master grants to a slave can also be taken away.

This is a good place to further your understanding on the topic of license to marry:
www.jesus-is-savior.com...

This is the pamphlet by Pastor Matt Trewhella that has been around for a very long time and for many is all that they will need to help make this important decision to license or not, that is the question.

5 Reasons Why Christians Should Not Obtain a State Marriage License
By Pastor Matt Trewhella
Every year thousands of Christians amble down to their local county courthouse and obtain a marriage license from the State in order to marry their future spouse. They do this unquestioningly. They do it because their pastor has told them to go get one, and besides, "everybody else gets one." This pamphlet attempts to answer the question - why should we not get one?
1. The definition of a "license" demands that we not obtain one to marry. Black’s Law Dictionary defines "license" as, "The permission by competent authority to do an act which without such permission, would be illegal." We need to ask ourselves- why should it be illegal to marry without the State’s permission? More importantly, why should we need the State’s permission to participate in something which God instituted (Gen. 2:18-24)? We should not need the State’s permission to marry nor should we grovel before state officials to seek it. What if you apply and the State says "no"? You must understand that the authority to license implies the power to prohibit. A license by definition "confers a right" to do something. The State cannot grant the right to marry. It is a God-given right.
2. When you marry with a marriage license, you grant the State jurisdiction over your marriage. When you marry with a marriage license, your marriage is a creature of the State. It is a corporation of the State! Therefore, they have jurisdiction over your marriage including the fruit of your marriage. What is the fruit of your marriage? Your children and every piece of property you own. There is plenty of case law in American jurisprudence which declares this to be true.
In 1993, parents were upset here in Wisconsin because a test was being administered to their children in the government schools which was very invasive of the family’s privacy. When parents complained, they were shocked by the school bureaucrats who informed them that their children were required to take the test by law and that they would have to take the test because they (the government school) had jurisdiction over their children. When parents asked the bureaucrats what gave them jurisdiction, the bureaucrats answered, "Your marriage license and their birth certificates." Judicially, and in increasing fashion, practically, your state marriage license has far-reaching implications.
3. When you marry with a marriage license, you place yourself under a body of law which is immoral. By obtaining a marriage license, you place yourself under the jurisdiction of Family Court which is governed by unbiblical and immoral laws. Under these laws, you can divorce for any reason. Often, the courts side with the spouse who is in rebellion to God, and castigates the spouse who remains faithful by ordering him or her not to speak about the Bible or other matters of faith when present with the children.
As a minister, I cannot in good conscience perform a marriage which would place people under this immoral body of laws. I also cannot marry someone with a marriage license because to do so I have to act as an agent of the State! I would have to sign the marriage license, and I would have to mail it into the State. Given the State’s demand to usurp the place of God and family regarding marriage, and given it’s unbiblical, immoral laws to govern marriage, it would be an act of treason for me to do so.
4. The marriage license invades and removes God-given parental authority. When you read the Bible, you see that God intended for children to have their father’s blessing regarding whom they married. Daughters were to be given in marriage by their fathers (Deuteronomy 22:16; Exodus 22:17; 1st Corinthians 7:38). We have a vestige of this in our culture today in that the father takes his daughter to the front of the altar and the minister asks, "Who gives this woman to be married to this man?"
Historically, there was no requirement to obtain a marriage license in colonial America. When you read the laws of the colonies and then the states, you see only two requirements for marriage. First, you had to obtain your parents permission to marry, and second, you had to post public notice of the marriage 5-15 days before the ceremony.
Notice you had to obtain your parents permission. Back then you saw godly government displayed in that the State recognized the parent’s authority by demanding that the parent’s permission be obtained. Today, the all-encompassing ungodly State demands that their permission be obtained to marry.
By issuing marriage licenses, the State is saying, "You don’t need your parent’s permission, you need our permission." If parents are opposed to their child’s marrying a certain person and refuse to give their permission, the child can do an end run around the parent’s authority by obtaining the State’s permission, and marry anyway. This is an invasion and removal of God-given parental authority by the State.
5. When you marry with a marriage license, you are like a polygamist. From the State’s point of view, when you marry with a marriage license, you are not just marrying your spouse, but you are also marrying the State.
The most blatant declaration of this fact that I have ever found is a brochure entitled "With This Ring I Thee Wed." It is found in county courthouses across Ohio where people go to obtain their marriage licenses. It is published by the Ohio State Bar Association. The opening paragraph under the subtitle "Marriage Vows" states, "Actually, when you repeat your marriage vows you enter into a legal contract. There are three parties to that contract. 1.You; 2. Your husband or wife, as the case may be; and 3. the State of Ohio."
Part one:

Part two:

See, the State and the lawyers know that when you marry with a marriage license, you are not just marrying your spouse, you are marrying the State! You are like a polygamist! You are not just making a vow to your spouse, but you are making a vow to the State and your spouse. You are also giving undue jurisdiction to the State.
When Does the State Have Jurisdiction Over a Marriage?
God intended the State to have jurisdiction over a marriage for two reasons - 1). in the case of divorce, and 2). when crimes are committed i.e., adultery, bigamy, etc. Unfortunately, the State now allows divorce for any reason, and it does not prosecute for adultery.
In either case, divorce or crime, a marriage license is not necessary for the courts to determine whether a marriage existed or not. What is needed are witnesses. This is why you have a best man and a maid of honor. They should sign the marriage certificate in your family Bible, and the wedding day guest book should be kept.
Marriage was instituted by God; therefore it is a God-given right. According to Scripture, it is to be governed by the family, and the State only has jurisdiction in the cases of divorce or crime.
History of Marriage Licenses in America
George Washington was married without a marriage license. So, how did we come to this place in America where marriage licenses are issued?
Historically, all the states in America had laws outlawing the marriage of blacks and whites. In the mid-1800’s, certain states began allowing interracial marriages or miscegenation as long as those marrying received a license from the state. In other words they had to receive permission to do an act which without such permission would have been illegal.
Blacks Law Dictionary points to this historical fact when it defines "marriage license" as, "A license or permission granted by public authority to persons who intend to intermarry." "Intermarry" is defined in Black’s Law Dictionary as, "Miscegenation; mixed or interracial marriages."
Give the State an inch and they will take a 100 miles (or as one elderly woman once said to me "10,000 miles.") Not long after these licenses were issued, some states began requiring all people who marry to obtain a marriage license. In 1923, the Federal Government established the Uniform Marriage and Marriage License Act (they later established the Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act). By 1929, every state in the Union had adopted marriage license laws.
What Should We Do?
Christian couples should not be marrying with State marriage licenses, nor should ministers be marrying people with State marriage licenses. Some have said to me, "If someone is married without a marriage license, then they aren’t really married." Given the fact that states may soon legalize same-sex marriages, we need to ask ourselves, "If a man and a man marry with a State marriage license, and a man and woman marry without a State marriage license - who’s really married? Is it the two men with a marriage license, or the man and woman without a marriage license? In reality, this contention that people are not really married unless they obtain a marriage license simply reveals how Statist we are in our thinking. We need to think Biblically. (As for homosexuals marrying, outlaw sodomy as God's law demands, and there will be no threat of sodomites marrying.)
You should not have to obtain a license from the State to marry someone anymore than you should have to obtain a license from the State to be a parent, which some in academic and legislative circles are currently pushing to be made law.
When I marry a couple, I always buy them a Family Bible which contains birth and death records, and a marriage certificate. We record the marriage in the Family Bible. What’s recorded in a Family Bible will stand up as legal evidence in any court of law in America. Early Americans were married without a marriage license. They simply recorded their marriages in their Family Bibles. So should we.
(Pastor Trewhella has been marrying couples without marriage licenses for ten years. Many other pastors also refuse to marry couples with State marriage licenses.)
This pamphlet is not comprehensive in scope. Rather, the purpose of this pamphlet is to make you think and give you a starting point to do further study of your own. If you would like an audio sermon regarding this matter, just send a gift of at least five dollars in cash to: Mercy Seat Christian Church 10240 W. National Ave. PMB #129 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53227.
SOURCE: www.mercyseat.net...

Now some will argue well I can’t get medical coverage for a spouse without it, really have you ever tried? I worked in the medical insurance field with Prudential now owned by Etna that have been writing policies for significant others for many years long before the gay and lesbian movement came about.

The next common argument is on taxes: well at the end of the year I can’t check married filing jointly or individually? Really, again have you ever tried? Common law marriage is recognized and becomes lawful after seven years, so to avoid any legal conflict simply check the box married but filing individually instead of jointly you will end up with about the same benefit. However if you’re a studier of PAC then this is a mute issue anyways.

You will see that any so called argument only comes out do to lack of knowledge, nothing more and whom in their right mind would ever want to begin their new life with the one they love in bed with a third party? The State;

This is just one example from the Ohio Bar Association:
“When you repeat your marriage vows, you enter into a legal contract. There are three parties to that contract: 1) you: 2) your spouse: and 3) the state of Ohio. The state is a party to the contract because under its laws, you have certain obligations and responsibilities to each other, to any children you may have, and to Ohio.”

In other states the contract says its party to the fruits of the contract, well what are those fruits? Your children and they the state have a vested interest in them.

I thank you for your time and I hope this has opened your eyes so that you can now make an informed decision whether or not to license.

David Meola

No license.

Solves the whole same sex/opposite sex issue regarding health insurance coverage and taxes.

While I don't agree with your religous point of view, I do find your legal arguments very interesting. I very much appreciate your OP and the information in it and find the legal information facinating. I have been married closing in on 40 years and for all the legal obligations I was unaware of at the time, if I had it to do over again, we would never have married.

I would want a license because it is a form of offiicial recognition at the political level of our society of what I've done with my spouse.

It is an official announcement of my committment to another person which is recognized by the community and the State I live in.

reply to post by drmeola


Excellent write-up and thoughts.

I am vehemently against obtaining the state's permission to marry.
Every sentence you wrote rings true to me, and with sound reason.
We should not need permission to marry our spouses.
It is our choice who we want to marry, with their parents permission.

Obtaining a license for marriage is getting their permission to act.
As if it's illegal to marry without their permission.

I have a huge problem with the state telling me if I'm allowed to act.
Especially when it comes to marriage.
Driving and hunting, well...don't get me started.

Unfortunately, most people believe it's necessary and don't know otherwise.
They continue to believe they need "recognition" from the state as if the state is their master.
It has been engrained in society to ask permission from gov't to act.

It's not taught to us that we don't need their permission.
So false information gets passed down, generation after generation.
With no one the wiser.

Unless they actually look for the truth!


Excellent topic!


*S&F*