Polygamy: Illegal Or Legal?



 From Wikimedia Commons



In my last blog I discussed polygamy and how most of the time people use it as a probable cause to investigate fraud or child abuse, not just the polygamy itself. This time I would like to talk more on the bigger question, should polygamy be illegal or legal? If people don’t investigate just it, then why even bother with it being a law?

I have always cringed at the word ‘polygamy’, but when I confronted why I didn’t want anything to do about it; I realized that it is just society telling me, “No, that’s bad! Why? Well…just because.” I do not want to be a polygamist and that is my choice but it may not be the next person’s, so why should the law force it from everyone? I believe most people in our society have problems with polygamy because it is hard to understand why a person would want to marry a spouse having other spouses that they know about and live with comfortably. Janja Lalich explains that people who marry into polygamy might have been, “…at a transition point in their lives, when perhaps they were not completely connected or totally fulfilled with what was going on at the time, and if there is any common thread or traits, it is idealism, curiosity, and urge to create a better world, and wanting a sense of meaning and purpose”.

 I realize that polygamy has a bad reputation, especially with examples like what happened in Eldorado, Texas at the Yearning for Zion Ranch: old men marrying little girls, sex-trafficking, and having multiple kids to get government/ public assistance. The problem with this is that you cannot say that that goes for all plural marriages, just like if you made the connection to abusive partners in marriages to all marriages needing to be abolished by the law because abuse might happen in them. Stanley Roberts points out that when it comes to polygamy, “The first thing that must be made into law governing these types of marriages is that their will be no form of public assistance unless all members of the household, meaning husband and wives are gainfully employed”, and I agree with him on this but not only pertaining to plural marriages.  People, regardless of the type of marriage, should not have kids in abundance in order to get help from the government.  If polygamists are shunned from marrying, then why isn’t a monogamous married person  who has extramarital affairs prosecuted? Why isn’t their marriage license revoked or not recognized?

Polygamy should be legal to those who honestly love more than one person, not just because it is a tradition that a person is forced into. My question is should polygamy be legal? Also, do you think that polygamy has sprouted up even more due to our economic crisis?

To be a polygamist is to be a probable cause?

Polygamist wives from flickrCC

Being married to more than one person at a time usually makes people turn their heads in disgust. A 2009 poll on USNEWS. Com revealed that 91% Americans think that polygamy is wrong. There are two types of titles for multiple marriages, polygamy and bigamy. Specifics even go further with a male polygamist being a polygyny, a woman polygamist is polyandry, and when both the man and woman in the marriage are polygamists, they are group marriages. Polygamy is illegal in all states of the U.S., but, as with any law, it is often broken. The hotspot for polygamy conduct is in the state of Utah. Utah had to give up the practice of polygamy over a century ago. It might make a person feel better to be told that there are investigations to pinpoint down polygamists. The down side of this statement is that that is not always true because it would cost too much money and be putting officers out of the job of fighting serious crimes.

The Brown family was being scrutinized for possibly breaking the law. It seems that they doomed themselves when publically coming out to talk about their lives on TLC’s “Sister Wives”. Brown and his family said that the reason to do the show was to make their definition of family known to people; they want people to see how normal their abnormal family is.

Utah says on The News Tribune that bigamy/polygamy is rarely investigated and in circumstances where it is, it is because of, “cases involving allegations of abuse, sexual assault and fraud, not bigamy”. Since bigamy is a crime just like the others in that list, then why is it overlooked? Tom Green was the last person Utah did arrest for a polygamy charge, which was in 2001. Just like Mr. Brown, Mr. Green talked about his lifestyle to national media. This does not seem fair, since other polygamists who live in silence are not even examined. Instead of this crime being investigated in Utah for the fraud or abuse icing on top, bigamy/polygamy, investigations need to be more abundant and for the sole purpose cracking down on polygamy felonies.

Dream Weddings for Everyone

Girls. Imagine your dream wedding. Are you in a beautiful white ball gown or in a sparkly A-line gown? Are you in a church with your closest friends and family or are you on the beach with every person that you know? Are you marrying the man of your dreams?

Men. Imagine yours. Is your best friend your best man? Maybe it is your little brother? Are you still a little drunk from the party the night before? Are you marrying the woman of your dreams?

Why does it seem that only heterosexual people can have their dream weddings? What about the homosexuals? Shouldn’t they deserve their dream weddings also? Because, it ruins the idea of the American family or it’s amoral? Well luckily for homosexuals, the idea of same-sex marriage is becoming more popular.
Sadly, as of right now there are only five states and one district (Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and DC) recognizes same-sex marriage. These married couples even receive state-level benifits.
Stanton Peele predicts that republicans will eventually accept same-sex marriage because the support is rising every month. In his article The Last Gay-Bashing Campaign?, he starts off with how former president George Bush’s last campaign it effected Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. After the campaign Romney established himself as a major anti-gay voice. Even though the state’s Supreme Court decided to allow gay marriage, Romney tried to pass an amendment to ban it. Of course this amendment wasn’t passed.
I’m sure even if Romney’s amendment was passed it would have ended like it did in California. Even though they passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage in 2008, they banned it again at the end of the year. Now, finally, the Supreme Court says the ban was unconstitutional and overturned it. “California ‘has no interest in differentiating between same-sex and opposite-sex unions.’”
If California could the role model for the rest of the states against gay marriage, that little girl can have her dream princess wedding in a church with the girl that she loves and the little boy who had always dreamt of marrying the man he loves on the beach can do so.

Should Gay Marriage Be Acceptable?

Usually, families consist of a male,

female, and a child. Nowadays, it is becoming more and more common to see same-sex marriages surround society. Homosexual marriages are becoming increasingly acceptable. Many people believe that gay marriage is wrongful or considered a sin, but many also believe that marriage should be a sacred commitment between two individuals who are in love. Nobody should be denied the right to wed based on sexual orientation. Individuals, based on some scientific research studies, are born gay and can't help the way they are. Others choose to be homosexual, which is their way of living, which should be acceptable. Then again, most gays are determined by a hormonal switch! Nobody wakes up one morning saying, "hey I'm going to be gay and be discriminated against." It's something in their hormones that tell them to behave they way they do. Nobody should refuse the right to wed, no matter gender, race, ethnicity, or sexual preference. Denying homosexuals their right to wed is minority or reversed discrimination.

Gay marriage has it's advantages and benefits. The number of adoptions would increase dramatically, reducing the number of foster kids and orphans. This is a good look because many male-female households have children out of wedlock and there are many teenagers who have kids and neglect them. Gay couples seem to have a genuine commitment to raising a loving family because they cant produce with one another. Gay marriage should be allowed mainly for the aforementioned reason. God's intention of marriage was supposed to be between a male and a female. Really, marriage should be between two lovers, regardless of sexual preference. . . as long as it isn't between objects! P.S: Love Makes the World Go Around.

Should gay couples have the right to marry?

Marriage is a sacred event held between two people that are in love. So why should it matter what sex the individuals are in order for them to have to right to get married? Today's society has changed greatly compared to fifty years ago. Tattoos, peircings, clothing, woman in job fields, hair styles and more have all been on a path of being more accepted than they were in earlier generations. Gay marriage is still a heated issue though. Yes, gay marriage was not even an option to consider back in the day, but why is society still at a stand still when it comes to this issue? Most peoples arguments against gay marriage is a result from their religion. In an article by Steve Waldman entitled "A Common Missed Conception" a poll based on gay marriage is discussed and showed that "the opposition to gay marriage and homosexuality is highest among the most religious."

Growing up in an environment where religion was not a part of my everyday life or forced upon me(not saying that it is forced upon everyone), I was able to explore my environment of people around me with an open mind while also gaining an appreciation for others and their lifestyles without judgement. I have learned that not everyone is going to be brought up the same way, with the same views or even have the same morals. This is why I am a firm believer in the legalization of gay marriage.

To me it does not matter if you are black or white, gay or straight, or from two different countries with two different marriage arrangements, if you develop feelings towards someone, you should have every right be married and share your everyday lifestyle with that person, without restrictions. People are not defected if they are gay. They just have a different preference towards whom they are attracted to. It may not even be the physical appearance of a person that attracts them to that person. If someone is attracted to the person's personality, and have an immediate connection towards them, why are they punished when it comes to being able to share their lives with one another?

When couples get married, they receive marriage benefits. They can share a home, shared health insurance, receive sick leave to car for their partner, joint adoption, have tax benefits and many more advantages than just two couples that are "together". With gay marriage not being legal, gay couples are not entitled to these benefits and cannot receive them any other way. This is a discrimination matter. Everyone is suppose to be treated as an equal. Yes, gay couples are different than straight couples, but what makes them "not-normal"? They are no different from you and I. Being gay is not a handicap, they are not stupid or "freaks" or have the inability to take care of themselves, others, run a business, or be a CEO, they still have the ability to make everyday conscious choices, vote for who they believe in, and make mistakes(such as getting a speeding ticket) like everyone . They just happen to have a different lifestyle than others, and that is it.

At one point, it was inter-racial marriage that was illegal and looked at as if the people were insane, or stupid. Society (or a more larger selection of people) has come to terms with inter-racial marriage and has accepted it. How different is that from gay marriage? Whether it is two people from different races or two people of the same sex, it is the same thing. People want to be treated as an equal.

If we as a society can just let go of judgement towards others and their lifestyles and become more accepting towards one another, we become able enough to overcome more obstacles as a whole. Being able to make decisions based on everyone's different lifestyles without exclusions and being able to coexist within a society forms a better relationship within a society and calls for an easier, stress-free living environment when it is known that everyone is and equal, and is treated as one.