White wedding, red tape

From the folks who promised to "get government off our backs," comes this Republican-sponsored bill that would subject marriage-bound Texas couples to a heavy dose of politicians-know-best.

Under the bill, couples eager to marry who attend a state-approved premarital counseling course will have the state's marriage license fee -- which would double from $30 to $60 -- waived. Couples who receive counseling will also dodge the state's 72-hour mandatory marriage waiting period.

The measure has already been approved by the legislature, so only Governor Rick Perry stands in the way of a Hobson's choice for love-struck Texans between coughing up twice the old fee for the "privilege" of getting the state's sanction for their relationship, or else submitting to a nagging session from some finger-wagging social worker.

I can think of no better argument for chucking the un-filed marriage license application in the trash and just shacking up together.

But Rep. Walter Chisum, the author of the marriage measure, doesn't just want to harangue people about to get married; he wants to hassle folks planning to dissolve their relationships too.

Chisum is also working on a divorce bill that has been hung up in this legislative session and that he intends to pursue next year. That legislation would require at least one of the two parties seeking the split to attend a "divorce training" seminar to discuss the challenges -- from financial to familial -- of legally divorcing.

Really, if you want young couples to write off marriage entirely, this sounds like a great way to convince them that the institution is more trouble than it's worth.

Frankly, there's no reason that government officials should have any say over personal relationships at all. The idea that we need the government's blessing for our romantic endeavors is a pernicious one that subjects private matters to public scrutiny. Thankfully, the premise that we need official sanction to share our lives has grown attenuated in recent years. Increasingly, people are making their own arrangements without regard to what the Walter Chisums of the world might prefer.

If marriage is to remain relevant at all, it needs to become a purely private matter, defined by the people taking their great leap of faith. Some couples will choose traditional arrangements, others will tailor the institution in innovative ways and a few may even choose the tortuous path that Chisum lays out. But there's no need for government marriage licenses, let along mandatory counseling sessions and waiting periods. Marriage as a private matter can be vital and responsive since it will adapt to meet the needs of the people getting married.

Or we can let the Walter Chisums of the world keep marriage as a government monopoly encumbered with all sorts of requirements intended to "perfect" the institution to their liking. If we follow that path it's a sure bet that formal marriage will end up as a legal museum exhibit, largely ignored by couples who have little interest in submitting to mandatory counseling sessions.