It's illustrative to see how states got involved in marriage in the first place. My understanding is that state registries began late 1800's "in order to help former slaves document their free status." Prior to that, state registries didn't exist, and bigamy laws were prosecuted by comparing private church records. Also, in today's world "health insurance" is another big reason for marriage. Another scam
It's illustrative to see how states got involved in marriage in the first place. My understanding is that state registries began late 1800's "in order to help former slaves document their free status." Prior to that, state registries didn't exist, and bigamy laws were prosecuted by comparing private church records. Also, in today's world "health insurance" is another big reason for marriage. Another scam