The Case for Marriage by Proxy

Though only a minority of American jurisdictions sanction marriage by proxy, considerations of logic and public policy indicate that many more should do so. These include those common law marriage jurisdictions which do not require cohabitation and those non-common law marriage states which have no statutes clearly requiring both parties personally to apply for the license or personally to attend the ceremony. It is hoped that this situation will be remedied. When a state assumes the authority to prescribe the sole conditions under which its inhabitants may enter into so basic a relation as that of marriage, it incurs the responsibility of making certain that this right is barred only for good reason.