Being a bit political
There is a bit of a debate going on here about the nature of marriage ... one 'letter to the editor' stated that marriage was primarily about providing a social institution for having kids. Darn ... I have two objections there ... Firstly ... it seems to suggest that you have to get married to become fertile and ... secondly ... it makes a fairly insulting comment about the nature of the relationship between the two people. According to the author you basically only get married so you can have kids. I've always had what apparently is a fairly romantic notion then that you marry someone because you love them and wish to spend your life together in a way that goes beyond being 'just friends'. That life could include kids but to say that you marry so that you can have kids and provide the only suitable way of raising kids is to ignore the diversity of family structures around the world that seem to function quite well in their diverse ways. Darn ... maybe I missed some...