Right to Marry: Analytical and Normative Account

[The file provided is a detailed abstract] Should the answer to the ‘what is marriage?’ question guide us on what we can regulate as marriage? This is important for determining what we want marriage to be and how we can make it more just. Some argue that we should move towards a marriage-free regime where personal relationships are recognized, but the rights are not bundled under the legal institution of marriage. However, the acolytes of the Received View about the right to marry claim that the legal institution of marriage is essential to this right. This raises a philosophical question of whether our normative projects are limited by what legal marriage currently is.