Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments.
(Shakespeare, Sonnet 116, ll. 1-2)

When I came across my marriage license tucked away in an old shoe box the other day, for the first time it occurred to me that here was yet one more instance (out of hundreds) where the government has meddled in and attempted to regulate my life.

Marriage is a matter of more worth
Than to be dealt in by attorneyship.
(1 Henry VI 5.5.50-1)

Who, I asked myself, gave the Nanny State the plenary power to deny me my choice of a life mate, or to express its approval of same? Whence cometh this authority?

In a 2006 Mises Daily article opposing the Defense of Marriage Amendment (DOMA), Gardner Goldsmith invites us to:

. . . deal with the popular misconception that a state-sanctioned marriage is a “right.” A state-sanctioned marriage is a government-proffered benefit, granting unique government treatment by law, and forcing certain actions by private industry under the law. It grants the sole license of conducting legal marriages to a select few, and excludes others from operating freely to conduct legal marriages. These facts alone stand in sufficient contravention to the concept of individual liberty to warrant opposition to state-licensed marriage. George and Martha Washington never had a marriage license, and most Americans didn’t need them until the mid-1800s. It is likely they would be appalled by the degree to which we have gotten the government involved in a sacred religious ceremony. [Emphasis added]

Goldsmith also observes that:

. . . conservatives have often been defenders of small government, or less intrusive government. They recognize that government is an artifice which places in shadow our true interpersonal relationships. They do not want the state to be considered above God. Yet, they want to make sure that at marriage ceremonies, the licensed practitioner conducting the ceremony states “by the power vested in me by the state of ….” It seems strange that any religious person would feel comfortable insinuating agents of the government in a holy ceremony, and leaving the definition of the word “marriage” in the hands of the government itself. Conservatives used to have a reputation for being skeptical of government. [Emphasis added]

But not any more, it appears.

The Wikipedia article on marriage licenses reports:

The requirement for marriage licenses in the U.S. has been justified on the basis that the state has an overriding right, on behalf of all citizens and in the interests of the larger social welfare, to protect them from disease or improper/illegal marriages; to keep accurate state records; or even to ensure that marriage partners have had adequate time to think carefully before marrying. [Emphasis added]

But not everyone is satisfied with this:

Some groups believe that the requirement to obtain a marriage license is unnecessary or immoral. The Libertarian Party, for instance, believes that all marriages should be civil, not requiring sanction from the state. Some Christian groups also argue that a marriage is a contract between two people and God, so no authorization from the state is required. In some U.S. states, the state is cited as a party in the marriage contract which is seen by some as an infringement. [Emphasis added]

Ultimately, though, it comes down to a discredited pseudoscience favored by Liberal Progressives, “pro-choice” advocates, and junk science junkies everywhere:

The marriage laws and license requirements of many states originated from the ideas of eugenics. [Emphasis added]

However, Leviathan isn’t content just with regulating marriage. Wikipedia’s short list of government licenses runs as follows:

Amateur radio license (Big Brother asserting control of the airwaves)
Banking license (the State arrogating control of wealth to itself)
Broadcast license (the State thinking it owns all of nature and can dispose of it at will)
Dog license (Rover getting rabies — once in a blue moon, maybe)
Driver’s license (the State wanting to restrict its citizens’ mobility)
Fishing license (like there’s a shortage of fish)
Firearms license (the Second Amendment? What’s that?)
Golf license (only in Belgium and the Netherlands — so far)
Hunting license (a backdoor attempt to neutralize the Second Amendment)
License to kill (a coveted governmental monopoly, q.v., James Bond)
Liquor license (Nanny knows best)
Marriage license (see above)
Medical license (the State ensuring a closed shop)
Pilot’s license (see “Driver’s license”, above)
Professional license (Leviathan saying you’re incompetent until it says you aren’t)
Television license (coming to America?)
Vehicle license (restricting mobility again)

Significantly, Wikipedia doesn’t include:

License to steal (the most jealously protected government monopoly of all).

……………………………………………………………….

From the Web:

Gardner Goldsmith, Mises Daily, June 22, 2006.
Wikipedia, “Marriage license”.
Wikipedia, “Eugenics”.
Marriage laws (by U.S. state).