The government is currently embroiled in a series of rather pointless battles to legally define the term 'marriage' in the context of two or more parties wishing to pool assets and/or support dependent parties. Unfortunately, since the term 'marriage' is one that was created by (and is traditionally bestowed by) religious institutions, there is significant pressure to legally define marriage as a very particular set of circumstances, one which the federal government should not need to enforce due to the First Amendment. By moving to a more neutral language, the government can establish multiple domestic situations without needing to legally define terms already inherent in religion.



