While I gather that David Frum is not particularly in favor of gay marriage, I think his points on how a state-by-state solution won’t work are very well taken.
Through a series of hypothetical questions, he demonstrates the following thesis. Americans may live in states, but they conduct their financial and legal lives in a united country bound by interstate institutions. Being married (or “united”) in just one state, unrecognized anywhere else, will carry with it tremendous risks for the couple should the venture outside of their state, personally or financially. As the questions Frum gives show, such an arrangement can only end in a situations that are as tragically unfair as gay couples face today — and as likely to provoke further law suits regarding the “full faith” provisions in the Constitution.
A national resolution to the “marriage” question will have to be determined, one way or the other. We may be able to finesse civil unions to be contractual arrangements of a business-like nature, but to tie into society’s expectation of what marriage should legally and naturally imply will require something on a national, thus Federal, level.
(via Sensing)
Differing state laws have been keeping the lawyers busy for years, but his points are valid. I’m not sure the problems are unresolvable though. There may have to be some kind of federal framework (perhaps involving inheritance law in particular) that would make some of the issues moot.
Right now, I could not move to Connecticut without divesting myself of certain firearms I legally own in Colorado. So differences in state constitutions (or their interpretations) already exist that have effects on how/where people can reside. Inheritance law for example also differs state to state, so some of the problems he cites are already in evidence for different reasons.
Certainly there are issues in banking, finance, property, probate, tax, employment, and other economic laws from state to state — as well as others (such as firearms) that vary still further.
That said, marital status tends to be fundamental in all of those areas, and having significant disconnects between states as to marital status is going to be incredibly chaotic.