Every child has the right to a mother and father

WHAT does Matt Cooper believe marriage is for? To judge from his column (August 28), he appears to believe it is simply a way two people can publicly affirm their love for one another.

What he does not address is why marriage is a social institution. Unlike marriage, friendship is not a social institution. It is not subsidised by the taxpayer as marriage is. It receives no legal recognition , as marriage does, even though two friends may share a house for decades and have become dependent on each other in various ways.

If marriage is simply two people who love each other making a public commitment to one another, why should it receive any more social support than friendship? Why should it receive institutional status? In fact, marriage has never received social support for the reason Mr Cooper describes.