# Is there any reason a single person can't be married? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 27, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041 "2013-06-27T16:27:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/21 "2013-06-27T17:36:32Z")
> [@TimeWinder](#): > > You’re struggling to find a single real case where being single has a penalty that could be solved just by calling themself “married.” Single military personnel must live in barracks on base, while married soldiers of the same rank may live offpost and receive money to do so. (at least that 's how it was back when I was in the army) That’s the only case I’ve thought of. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/22 "2013-06-27T17:39:00Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Single military personnel must live in barracks on base, while married soldiers of the same rank may live offpost and receive money to do so. > (at least that 's how it was back when I was in the army) > That’s the only case I’ve thought of. I was single and lived off base. ---
**Author:** ![Troppus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@Troppus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troppus)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/23 "2013-06-27T17:42:15Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I was single and lived off base. But not as far off base as the OP. ---
**Author:** ![aNewLeaf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ac91a4/32.png) [@aNewLeaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aNewLeaf)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/24 "2013-06-27T17:44:01Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I was single and lived off base. Was it ‘official’? Or was your real address in the barracks? What period of time was that? I got out in 1988. Edit- BAQ? Separate Rats? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/25 "2013-06-27T17:53:46Z")
> [@aNewLeaf](#): > > Single military personnel must live in barracks on base, while married soldiers of the same rank may live offpost and receive money to do so. > (at least that 's how it was back when I was in the army) > That’s the only case I’ve thought of. There ya go, **DJ Motorbike**! All you have to do is join the military and have your imaginary friend join at the same time, and achieve the same rank as you, and as soon as you’re out of boot camp, you’re livin’ in a sweet military-style bungalow, outside the gates! Only two possible snags I can see: first, your imaginary friend, particularly if not in the same training platoon as you, might fall for another recruit. Love can be fickle that way. The other snag, which strikes me as more likely, is the possibility that your imaginary fiancee will turn out to be so much more . . . yeah, never mind, I just noticed we’re still in GD. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/26 "2013-06-27T18:16:47Z")
> [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > Singles should be able to be married to “nobody” and be afforded the same benefits as married couples. > > I say to you, quite frankly, that the time for discrimination against singles is over. Being married vs single does not place you in a protected class under discrimination laws. There is no unlawful discrimination. How about offering a list of tangible “benefits” that a married individual has vs a single person? That way each can be debated on their merits, free of any perceived non-existing bias that may exist. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/27 "2013-06-27T19:23:30Z")
> [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > Is there any reason a single person can’t be married? He’s so ugly that even if he proposed to himself he’d still be turned down? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2013, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/28 "2013-06-27T22:16:09Z")
> [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > There are neighborhoods zoned for “family only” where the unmarried are not allowed. Not by law, only by private contract. There are also locations that are limited to singles. I do not see you protesting that. > [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > Filing your taxes as married which may result in lower taxes depending on your situation. “Depending on your situation,” you may also have to pay more as part of a married couple. Since you have been posting on this board for seven years and I never saw you protest the marriage penalty for Federal taxes, I will have to chalk this up to more hypocrisy on your part. > [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > So why can’t a single person be allowed these benefits? It’s Jim Crow all over again. The “Jim Crow” comparison is so far over the top that I am just shy of issuing a Warning for trolling. Would you like this thread moved to The Game Room as a joke or to The BBQ Pit as a rant, because it is clearly not a Great Debate. (Or, to save you further embarrassment, I could close it for you.) [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![austerity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@austerity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/austerity)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/29 "2013-06-28T02:21:47Z")
> [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > Singles should be able to be married to “nobody” and be afforded the same benefits as married couples. > > I say to you, quite frankly, that the time for discrimination against singles is over. I agree, the government proved that marriage is not about love, it is about taxes. The whole DOMA suit was based on a married same sex couple wanting a tax break ($363,000 of fed estate taxes, it was nothing about love) and the supreme court ruled that married people of the same sex should be able to pay less taxes than people who are not married. so if marriage is an equal right and married people pay less taxes, then single people should be able to get married without a partner and be able to pay less taxes as well. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/30 "2013-06-28T06:38:35Z")
I think the OP doesn’t go far enough. If single people should be able to marry, why not zero-people? Let’s end this discrimination against the nonexistent. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/31 "2013-06-28T07:19:28Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Which benefits, specifically, are these singles being denied? Well, if I’m a narcissist shouldn’t I be able to get legal recognition of my love like everyone else?! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/32 "2013-06-28T08:42:22Z")
There’s a lot of snark in this thread, but I see where the OP is coming from. _If it were the case_ that the state benefits for married couples were significant, then I would be protesting right alongside the OP. And it’s not hard to show that the glib retort “well, you can always get married”, is flawed. It just so happens that in the US at least, the benefits are not so huge. Indeed it’s debatable whether singles or couples get the better deal overall. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Know\_Nothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f04885/32.png) [@I\_Know\_Nothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Know_Nothing)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/33 "2013-06-28T09:03:21Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Well, their partners don’t get health insurance. > [@Really Not All That Bright](#): > > A single person has all the rights a married person does. Two single people can enjoy all the rights two married people do by marrying each other. It’s quite a neat arrangement. I feel like I’m reading a Terry Pratchett novel. ---
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/34 "2013-06-28T17:39:02Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Hey, **DJ Motorbike** , _is_ this the reason for this thread, or not? > And could back up the claim about the “family only” neighborhoods? I am not against SSM. And this isn’t a gotcha in that sense. My point is that government shouldn’t be in the business of marriage. There shouldn’t be any penalties or benefits. Marriage should be a religious/private institution. I’ve heard from proponents of SSM that there are 1100 federal benefits to marriage that same-sex couples aren’t allowed. Is that figure accurate? I don’t know ask a SSM activist. My answer is to remove all benefits from everyone rather than have Washington dictate to it’s mewling subjects how marriage is going to be defined for everyone from now on. I challenge anyone to give me a compelling reason why a single person should not be able to be considered married in a legal sense. 1. Would it hurt anyone? 2. Would it cause society to collapse if Washington redefined marriage to include singles? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/35 "2013-06-28T17:44:33Z")
Eleven hundred federal benefits for being married? Name one. I’m Canadian, but income splitting as a pensioner is all I can come up with. Apart from that, I got nothin’. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/36 "2013-06-28T17:48:05Z")
> [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > **Is there any reason a single person can’t be married?** Because it never works out. In five years you’ll be taking separate vacations (which usually turns out to be fatal). ---
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/37 "2013-06-28T17:51:25Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > Not by law, only by private contract. > There are also locations that are limited to singles. I do not see you protesting that. > > “Depending on your situation,” you may also have to pay more as part of a married couple. Since you have been posting on this board for seven years and I never saw you protest the marriage penalty for Federal taxes, I will have to chalk this up to more hypocrisy on your part. > > The “Jim Crow” comparison is so far over the top that I am just shy of issuing a Warning for trolling. > > Would you like this thread moved to The Game Room as a joke or to The BBQ Pit as a rant, because it is clearly not a Great Debate. > > (Or, to save you further embarrassment, I could close it for you.) > > [/Moderating] I’d rather it not be closed or moved. I apologize if it seems I’m trolling. I am trying to make a point. I’m not against SSM. I don’t think that Washington should be in the business of defining marriage. This is an example of a slippery slope that is more “possible” than polygamy/polyandry that I most often hear because there is no reason to deny a person marriage just because they’re single. As stupid as that sounds I feel it is correct. I should have phrased it like this to begin with. But the thought occurred to me yesterday when I had very little time I wanted to post before I had to go. I didn’t have time to collect my thoughts and write a more compelling/less inflammatory OP I wish I had waited. I haven’t been able to return until now. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/38 "2013-06-28T17:51:42Z")
> [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > I am not against SSM. And this isn’t a gotcha in that sense. My point is that government shouldn’t be in the business of marriage. There shouldn’t be any penalties or benefits. Marriage should be a religious/private institution? Could you provide us a definition of “marriage” that would allow a single person to join with…nobody? A marriage is a joining, so who or what is this hypothetical single person joining with? ---
**Author:** ![DJ\_Motorbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90ced4/32.png) [@DJ\_Motorbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DJ_Motorbike)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/39 "2013-06-28T17:53:30Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Eleven hundred federal benefits for being married? > > Name one. > > I’m Canadian, but income splitting as a pensioner is all I can come up with. Apart from that, I got nothin’. That was the figure I heard thrown out by SSM activists. Anyway, just being able to say you’re legally married is in itself a benefit. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2013, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041/40 "2013-06-28T17:54:29Z")
> [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > That was the figure I heard thrown out by SSM activists. > > Anyway, just being able to say you’re legally married is in itself a benefit. In what way? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-reason-a-single-person-cant-be-married/662041.md?page=3)