I see the benefits of marriage, but to me, the point is lost. Part of it is because of the prejudice heaped on it by really conservative individuals (like "it's unclean" and such) and I don't really feel it's necessary to subject myself to things like that. The person I'm with knows that I am theirs and they are mine, and for us, that's good enough.

I agree with this

That's not the conservative argument against same-sex marriage, that it's "unclean" btw.

It depends on your conservative. I may have lumped too many people together with that descriptor, and I do recognize that not every conservative thinks that way. But too many of them use phrases like "it defeats the sanctity of marriage" or "it's unclean and against (insert religious deity here)".

I really feel like this is a matter of the love between two people. If it is big enough to want to get married, go for it. If not, don't get married. My personal problem is if you get married with someone that you aren't really, really sure you would like to get married to. If you have to ask yourself, "Are we ready for such commitment?", then the answer is obvious you are not and you can keep dating, call it off, or just don't get married. One thing about marriage I would like to point out is that it is a decision that should rule above all other opinions. If you care about what other people think about the decisions, gay or straight or any of the sexualities in between, then your not ready yet. Come back later. XD. But seriously. I think that is a decision for couples that have been together for a while.

Agreed. I think that its making a very solid commitment. Too many people rush into marriage or think its somehow going to make a relationship better. That part always baffles me. lol

Yeah, marriage isn't something to help aid a relationship. Marriage comes after the aid. That's why you date xD it baffles me some of the reasons people get into marriage and how long they have been together before announcing it. It makes me have questions.

"Wait, your getting married after only a couple hours with him? Who are you? Cinderella? Did a Fairy Godmother magically appear with silver confetti dropping from the sky? Did she wave a $2 stick she got at the dollar store talking about Bipity Bopity Boo?"

XD LMAO

As a hopeless romantic, I love the idea of getting married, Idunno, just the idea that you and your life partner are connected like that, "belonging" to each other, it's a really nice thought ^^

And that's totally okay. I do love the romantic element of marriage very much. :3

Agreed X3 I find the act of getting married so romantic when the two getting married fully loves each other.

Agreed. I would love to have a nice wedding

I'm happy with my partner, whether married or otherwise. That being said, marriage has its financial/legal benefits.

Later in life, I would like to be able to truthfully refer to the man who has my heart as my "husband" rather than "boyfriend" or "partner." That's the biggest appeal for me. I'd be happier taking my husband to a social event at my workplace than taking my boyfriend to such an event. It's a matter of labels, and not everyone will care about that sort of thing, but I do admit I'd take satisfaction in introducing him: "This is my husband, ..."

Same.
What me and my Boy friend do right now is call each other "bubby."
If we ever got married, it would just change the b to an h. But that simple letter change would make so much of a difference.
Saying Boy Friend also sounds strong at least to me. So changing it to "Husband" would be a nice change.

Homestly its a silly event we humans made

This is one of those time and place questions. But personal feelings on it, I don't think I'd do it unless I'm deep in a relationship with someone already. After maybe 5 or so years, I'd say. My reasoning for this is simply that at that point, the chances of us leaving eachother have become slim. Marriage, to me, is almost an additional stress on a relationship because it just gives you a "reason" to stay. It's something tying you two together that is outside of your love for eachother. It's like how there are some couples that stay together because otherwise they wouldn't be able to make ends meet, or some that stick around because they have family pressuring them to. It's a force outside of emotion, and therefor, one that can impact how you view the other person.

Not really sure how to end that off, admittedly, but I think my point was made. Regardless, I'd rather stay with someone out of love than because it's too inconvenient to break a piece of paper.

That's precisely the point of marriage. Making the public commitment and promise in the eyes of witnesses acts as a force of accountability that helps keep one's relationship together and this is reinforced by statistics which are not great for cohabiting couples that don't get married or for couples that cohabit a long time together before getting married. The notion that this is "outside the your love" is nonsense. If one's love can't abide or endure the accountability and obligations that come with the conventions of marriage, then it's not a love worth maintaining.

I feel like fiancés are together enough to be considered married. Marriage just seems like a legal benefits thing now.

Traditionally it was just a family benefits thing. Kids were groomed to be married off. Now people can make of it what they choose to.

I feel close enough to my BF to consider him my fiancé. The best thing I did for our relationship was come out to myself as trans XD It always felt wrong saying I was his BF, but as his GF instead it's instantly like YES THIS IS US THIS HAS ALWAYS BEEN US TOGETHER (Open relationship :3)

I'm so happy for gay guys and lesbians though. It's like they're breaking down the walls of oppression directly. And they're so friggin CUTE

I was with my partner for 7 years, then we thought "Might as well get married", and so we did. ^_^

We're both small-town guys and never went for the whole promiscuous "cityfag" or "open" stuff, so after 7 years we decided to make it "official".

It's mostly a benefits thing and that "Final Step" to being "Serious" with another person.

Now we pay less in taxes, get massive benefits and discounts, have hospital access, health insurance, federal and state level legal protections and so on.

Hell, the sex and love has gotten better now that we are both committed to each other. It is like finally being able to be completely comfortable with someone without having to "hold back" a little, if you know what I mean. ^_^

I don't necessarily need something to be labeled "marriage" - I just want any legal construct that gives me and my yet-to-be-determined same-sex partner the same status of a mixed-sex marriage.
Same tax benefits, same adoption rights, same inheritance succession, same care and representation rights..

I would like to get married in the future to a guy, I think thats enough

I'm in a very close polyamorous relationship.
Right now it's just me, my boyfriend that lives with me, My best friend, and new guy who's a cute furry coming recently into the relationship. The important thing in this relationship is that everyone has to like each other and there will be no one night stands.
I've found that I like a lot of different traits in my guys personality wise. One is super timid when it comes to even the simplest of tense situations. But, is super compassionate and would perfectly spend all day cuddling with me without having to say a single word. Another always wants attention and wants to be intellectually stimulated a lot. Then there's the best friend that everyone loves after the first high five. He's just really fun to be around and we sometimes play around with him in bed.
So far it has made the relationship much better since some are more sexual while some others are more intellectual.
The thing here is that for at least me, there is only one guy that I'm devoted to and vice versa for him. That choice is due to loyalty levels. We live with each other and everything. The other two have other things to deal with. Like one can only come down if he has a ride since we all don't drive (Boston boys and small town boy). The best friend is gay but wants to have a child with a wife, plus he's not exactly our type.
If me and my loyal partner stay together for 5 years, we will heavily consider marriage. Figure out on having a kid. All that. We might just have a kid with no marriage since we're not keen on the idea of paying for it all. That's still only a side thought for now.

Just thought I'd put in a polyamorous relationship dude's mindset on this subject.
Please no hate on this comment.

On one paw, I don't need to be married to someone to prove that I love them or only want them as a romantic and intimate partner. On the other paw, it is nice to subvert the hundreds of years of traditions that said only one man and one woman could be together in a special way by having a special ceremony of my own. I don't care about the tax or other benefits either way.

But I am and have been single for a while so it doesn't matter XD

I am one of those people who thinks that the legal contract should be a civil union, and that if you want a 'marriage', that you would have to have done by your church. This is what they do in Europe. The fact that a religious institution rules partnerships in this country makes me sick, and that we fight so hard to be able to join this institution confuses the hell out of me

I am in a closed marraige cos my husband and I dont believe in open marriges as we feel its not a marraige, our own opinions of course as im sure there are open marraiges that work for them which is good, we also got married cos we love each other and are commited to the end

For me, my firm belief is that so long as you love someone, Marriage is not really necessary. Because it's just a piece of paper and you do not need that to define your relationship. But, if marriage is your personal preference and both partners agree...then go for it. Obviously, there are benefits to being married.

I wanted to get married, and because my wife is a soldier, we had to get married to live together. If we did not get married, she could not live off of post, her pay would not allow us to live together even if I had a place, and other things. We wanted to make sure things would be taken care of if she got deployed and something happened, and the military only allows married couples o do certain things, so it was something we wanted to do, but it was also the 'smarter' choice for us because of my wife's careers. So, you just have to think about what is best for you and your partner.

I guess it's way too early to start thinking bout marriage in my age but whatever. Aside from the "official" status of the partnership and financial benefits I don't really see a reason to get married. Surely that's just me and many people want the whole wedding ceremony to make it official and just to overall celebrate the partnership but I don't quite think that's for me. I don't think I need that to show my commitment.

Honestly I see it as doing what suits the situation I’ve been in enough tangos to know that at least being together is the most important thing and I also love the emotional significance of marriage but it is also a huge thing and both parties should be fully ready to dedicate if that’s what they want, on the flip side there’s extra costs so just holding off or remaining together without being married may be better for the time. But long story short, anyone should be allowed to marry if they wish it’s just something that works a bit better once everything is going stable in a couples life.

I'm very late to this party but I'm gonna toss in what I have to say as well.
I really don't like marriage, or the idea of legal bindings in general. Something about letting the government get involved with your relationship is severely off-putting, not to mention the connection to religion and the severely one-sided detriment a divorce can bring. Not worth the hassle to me