So, because gay couples, couples who choose not to get married because they'll lose their deceased spouse's benefits if they marry, and others, because they lack a sheet of paper signed by a Justice of the Peace, have no commitment?
Marriage is not the end-all and be-all of human relationships.
I lived w/ Mr Munch for a while. It made our relationship so much stronger, because we saw each other through so many difficulties (personal and family health problems, financial issues, etc). Yes, we had a few arguments that we wouldn't have had if we had chosen not to live together until later, and we know how to handle the other in situations like that. We came into the situation KNOWING that we weren't just "playing house." Since I'm pretty much used to living in the city, we're going to move in together at the end of this school year.
We both know that we're going into this with the utmost care and circumspection--a far cry from the "shot-gun" moveins that so many of us are referring to.