I don't really see the point in it. If it's purely because you love someone you can do that without a marriage, you don't need some legal/religious contract for the girl/guy to go around saying your her property. Chances are he/she was doing that already, and vice versa with you. The benefits are nice, I agree but it just seems like a way for the Government to get involved in business that isn't theirs. They only give benefits to marriages because they want something out of it (new tax payers in the form of children) and will do everything to give you guys the stability to have children. It also doesn't make sense from a religious standpoint cause it begs the question "Do you love this person more than the deity you worship?" I'm not trying to attack marriage, and chances are if I found "The One" I would probably want to marry her. It was just a question that came into my mind since I'm pretty sure if you lived in a world without marriages, a real loving relationship could function just fine without it.