#becuase the legal protections and rights are still completely tied to the traditional idea of marriage

[golden--flowers]

I'm officially becoming a marriage abolitionist. State doesn't need to know your relationships. The legal qualifications and privileges associated with marriage now don't have to be and the system could be replaced with a new ranking one that makes them less rigid and also removes blood family assumptions at the same time. "These people can visit me in the hospital, this person can't. This person can make decisions for me if I'm unable to (for a legitimate reason), these people can't. These people could not inherit custody of my children, these people could." And if you want to engage in marriage traditions that's completely fine, but the state doesn't need to know.