Polygamy in the US: Should it be legal?

1. 74

   VVanNessposted 12 years ago

   Polygamy in the US: Should it be legal?
   
   I realize with gay marriage on the rise, things are changing drastically in our country. Does this mean that we are also going to have to rethink other kinds of marriage?

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2. 61

   MickSposted 12 years ago

   Well I don't know about 'our country' I'm not from the US, you are addressing many nationalities on the internet.  I go along with the natives of Borneo, I read once, that there, polygamy isn't prohibited, but is frowned upon, as it is considered an invitation to noise.  The way my missus witters away, non-stop all day, I can understand why.

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      VVanNessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I apologize for the lack of tact in saying "our country." I appreciate your comments. If I'm not mistaken, I thought it was illegal in the US. Is that not the case anymore?

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   2. 61

      MickSposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I don't believe that I suggested that the US now approves of polygamy, as far as I know it is still illigal there. I was referring to the attitude of the indigenous population of Borneo.

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      VVanNessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Ah. I understand. Thanks.

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3. 96

   peeplesposted 12 years ago

   The government should have no right to tell anyone who they can marry so long as the person they are marrying is of legal age. No one should have the right to mind other people's personal business.

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      VVanNessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Why exactly is it that you feel that way? You do realize that in many if those situations young girls are "forced" into polygamist marriages. They simply don't realize that they have another choice.

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      peeplesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Where are you getting your info from? I mean no disrespect but really what most people know about polygamy is simply what the media has told them. Most situations aren't camps of young girls marrying an old guy.

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   3. 74

      VVanNessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      No, I realize that it is not but I do know that it happens quite frequently.

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      peeplesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      So do alot of things. That doesn't mean we should make everything illigal just because some do wrong.

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   5. 74

      VVanNessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I agree. Isn't it currently illegal?

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      peeplesposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yes it is. For some reason the USA government likes to control people's personal lives. Really makes no sense to me as it is none of my business what people want to do in their homes.

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4. 81

   junksellerposted 12 years ago

   The overall point about same-sex marriage is that we have no reason to prevent it simply because some find it distasteful. Preventing some sort of actual harm to society is necessary to selectively treat a class of people different from others. That is why, for instance, we can prevent sex offenders from living near schools.
   
   By that same logic there probably is no reason to prevent polygamy, or possibly even incest, though, that one is a bit trickier. So, yes, I'd say it's entirely possible that these prohibitions will also some day be dissolved.

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   1. 74

      VVanNessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for your opinion! I wonder if you'd feel the same way if it happened within your family. What if it was your daughter?

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      junksellerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      My point is that personal feelings, including my own, are a poor substitute for the rule of law.Eeven if I had personal feelings a particular way, I can choose not to have them supersede equality under the law for others.

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5. 0

   Justsilvieposted 12 years ago

   I have no problem with what consenting adults want to do. There is no real argument against it even for the some of the religions. But in the past and present you usually only hear of it as a one male and numerous females relationship even polyamorous relationships seem to favor that direction. Reverse the players and see it that would take off... I just doubt it!

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   1. 74

      VVanNessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      lol I think dashingscorpio has it right. One spouse is plenty. I can't imagine having to take care of/please multiple partners.

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6. 70

   dashingscorpioposted 12 years ago

   Polygamy - The act of legally having multiple spouses is not lot likely to happen because of all the potential financial issues and claims that could be launched in the event of a divorce from one or more spouses, as well as death benefits and so on. Most people can barely live with one spouse!
   The whole gay marriage movement is an (equality) issue. They want the same rights to marry the people they love as us heterosexuals have. Fifty years from now we'll look back and find it hard to believe this was ever an issue.
   It was not until 1967 that the United States government finally outlawed any legislature prohibiting racially mixed marriages. That was just 46 years ago! Today it seems hard to believe that it took that long to allow people of different races to marry the people they love. Two consenting adults should be able to marry one another regardless of their sexual orientation.
   It's not as though gays and lesbians came from some alien planet. Their parents were heterosexuals just like everyone else. :-)

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   1. 74

      VVanNessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Ha ha! I love your perspective! I can't believe that it was only 46 years ago that racial mixed marriages were not allowed. I didn't even know that was a thing. You're right about it being a non-issue 50 years later.

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      dashingscorpioposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I also can't believe there was a time women could not vote! This link is about interracial marriage. Equality should be a non-issue. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interracial_marriage

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7. 80

   PurvisBobbi44posted 12 years ago

   Polygamy is a felony as per the Edmunds Act---also known as Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act of 1882. So it is illegal in the United States and its territories.
   
   However, it is legal in about 50 other countries. I do not know anyone who lives in this type of arrangement and hopefully never will. It makes me ill thinking of the young girls who are forced to marry--- and it is mostly to older men.

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8. 61

   Felicia Carrilloposted 12 years ago

   i personally think its wrong but people are gonna do it anyways.

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