Marriage Privatization

Marriage privatization is the concept that the state should have no authority to define the terms of personal relationships such as marriage. Proponents of marriage privatization, including certain minarchists, anarchists, libertarians, and opponents of government interventionism, claim that such relationships are best defined by private individuals and not the state. Arguments for the privatization of marriage have been offered by a number of scholars and writers. These arguments are most often raised in the context of same-sex marriage. Another option involves a policy of allowing civil unions for same-sex couples while maintaining marriage exclusively for heterosexual couples. Proponents of marriage privatization often argue that privatizing marriage is a solution to the social controversy over same-sex marriage. Arguments for the privatization of marriage span both liberal and conservative political camps.