Comedian, Doug Stanhope, has a funny skit about marriage that I think raises a good question.
“If marriage wasn’t around, would you invent it. Would you be like, “baby, what we got it is so good, let’s get the government involved.”

Why do we need the institution of marriage? It is after all, a contract between a couple AND the state.
From what I have read, marriage licenses began in the U.S. to prevent interracial marriage. If that is the case, marriage seems to have historically been used more as another form of segregation and governmental control.
Marriage licenses, much like drivers licenses, are not rights, but are privileges, because permission must be granted by the state to obtain a license.
Why must marriage licenses exist? Can’t most of the benefits offered through marriage be done through private contracts?