Pet Marriages:A Clear Case for Civil Unions

This past weekend, I heard a brief snippet on the radio about an attorney in Virginia who is lobbying for marriage rights for pets. Paraphrasing from memory,

People hold marriage ceremonies for their pets. The pets live together and become dependent on each other emotionally. When one member of the union dies, the other becomes despondent. They need to have some rights, to compensate them for their loss.

This strikes me as an area perfectly designed for contract law and civil-union-type law. If people want to this sort of thing, why not? But I see no reason for special legislation.

I was not about to write anything about this topic without checking out the story. Here is the result of Googling "pet marriage". The top links refer not to marriages between pets, but to marriages of owners to pets. E.g., Marryyourpet.com. -- "Specialists in catering for those who would like to demonstrate a long-term commitment to their pet."

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