Fighting Bans Against Cohabitation

Did you know that it's against the law to "live in sin" in North Dakota? Did you know that there are similar laws in Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia?

Well, it's against the law in North Dakota, and a freshman Democrat is trying to get that old ban off the books. In North Dakota, "23,000 of the state's 642,000 residents are living together as opposite-sex partners." They are breaking a law that dates back to 1889. I'm interested in this because the Count and I lived together without being married for over a decade. We married a year and a half ago. There was no reason why we didn't marry. We were just lazy. Plus, his company gave health insurance to cohabiting couples, so there was no reason to marry for health insurance, which is one reason I understand some couples marry these days.

The media has covered the news that, for the first time, there are more women living without husbands than being married. One reason this is the case is that more couples are cohabiting. Marriage won't go away, and I certainly don't want to see it go away, but it's not the only family form out there these days. It's not even the most common family form out there. Cohabitation is on the rise, and laws like those in the states I've mentioned in this post are archaic, and they need to be abolished. Plus, gays and lesbians are beginning to get recognized regarding marriage in some states.

It's only a matter of time. Just think - years in the future, people won't even think twice about knowing that there are more ways to live as a family than heterosexual first marriage with children. Cohabiting couples, married gays and lesbians, and other family forms will be recognized for being just as valid as traditional marriage.