There is a simple solution to the debate over marriage that secures the existing marriage law while solving the problem of legal rights for other relations:
NOK
We should have a law that allows each of us to assign ONE person as our next of kin. By default this NOK can be as dictated by the present law or it could be a lover, a brother, a sister or a close friend. The NOK acquires ALL rights of a married partner.
NOK laws have several advantages over even civil unions.
One disadvantage of current CU laws is that they assume that NOK rights should go to your co-habitant. This may not be desirable to some. E.g. two people may simply be room mates for convenience or even love but want to keep their NOK rights seperate.
Also typical civil unions are based on ... SEX. But not all loving twosomes have sex. Some folks are old, some couples are based on other qualities of love. For example, priests may not be gay and yet may want very much to declare one another as NOK,
NOK laws, however, can be like a civil union or marriage in that they might be restricted to reciprocal relations. That is I can only be your NOK if you are willing to be mine. This would institutionalize much of what our society sees of value in partnerships.
NOK laws also solve the problem of polygamy. Our Constitution SHOULD permit poly-gamy or poly-andry under the freedom of religion, despite American prejudices in this regard. BUT, there is no reason we should not have a law defining NOK rights as limited to one reciprocal relationship.
Finally NOK laws avoid most of the state's rights issues since they simply provide a right that can exist between individuals whether or not he NOKers live in one state.
There are even humorous implications ..
imagine the NOK NOK and NOK UP jokes.
NOK laws will soon be implimented in the BLOGVEL 2020. After the assasination. <grin>