The “Get The Government Out Of Marriage” Canard

Jason Brennan dismantles the idea that libertarian critiques of marriage law can be used as a reason to oppose marriage equality:

I don’t advocate having the government distribute red scarves in order to signal status. That’s not the business the government should be in. However, if the government did distribute scarves as a way of signaling status and membership, I’d want it to do so equally. I’d be outraged if it excluded homosexuals, or blacks, or whomever, even though I think it’s dumb for the government to issue scarves in the first place.

I don’t want trivialize marriage. In the case above, the value of getting a red scarf is purely symbolic. The value of having government accept and recognize your marriage contract is not purely symbolic.