polygamy

[sprky777]

Polygamy is difficult enough with persecution from friends and family without the threat of government intervention. Most polygynists would be satisfied with 'decriminalization' with no change in benefits.

 

[SweetAngel23]

too many husbands would drive any woman crazy, I want one husband thank you very much.,

 

[heatherq17]

too many husbands would drive any woman crazy, I want one husband thank you very much.,

 

[Shemjaza]

Well, I was rather talking about the Islamic variant of polygamy, where the man is married to several women separately - they aren't all married to each other in one big marital union, or anything like that. Which means that, at the end of the day, the wives will have to share a husband, which is bound to cause all sorts of problems. Which is why it shouldn't be engaged in lightly.

I know a woman who lives with her two boyfriends... but th two guys are both straight so they are just friends who live together. It works well for them.

Personally if I was a married Islamic man and I found another woman I was interested in as well, I'd defiantly want my wife to be able to care about and live with the other girl before I made any long term decisions.

 

[sprky777]

Polygyny is allowed by Christianity also, no need to be Islamic. The first wife must accept the second wife, if not, it won't happen. Frequently, it is the first wife that chooses the second wife.

 

[kopilo]

Stop being greedy there are good men w/o a girlfriend or wife and would really like a decent one.
(this is meant to be a joke)

 

[Maynard Keenan]

Depends on what you mean. If you mean people should be able to enter a religious arrangement of marriage with multiple people, then it should be up to the religion. If you mean civil marriage multiple times, no. For one, we'd have to completely rewrite tax law and a myriad of other things to try to fit this "union" into society. Companies would be required to pay retirement benefits to as many spouses as you have. It just doesn't fit our model of society. But if they wish to separately have their religious marriage to 5 people, I'm not going to throw them in jail for it.

 

[AirPo]

Isn't it rather odd that while it is perfectly legal to live and sleep with with two or more women (or two men if you are a woman), it only becomes illegal if you marry them both.

Somebody might explain the logic of this, because it eludes me.

And BTW, I agree with DLaurier - one woman is more than enough, especially when the "will there be kids with that?" order comes into play.

Norm

I believe it has to do with the secular contract between the married couple.

 

[AirPo]

Depends on what you mean. If you mean people should be able to enter a religious arrangement of marriage with multiple people, then it should be up to the religion. If you mean civil marriage multiple times, no. For one, we'd have to completely rewrite tax law and a myriad of other things to try to fit this "union" into society. Companies would be required to pay retirement benefits to as many spouses as you have. It just doesn't fit our model of society. But if they wish to separately have their religious marriage to 5 people, I'm not going to throw them in jail for it.

Exactly!

 

[Pogue]

As long as everyone involved is happy about it, I think it should be legal.

 

[Mling]

Eventually, I would not be opposed to it, but I don't think our current beurocratic mess could handle it. It needs to be eased into.

Which probably won't happen, granted. America works on the system of making something legal (or possible) first, and then worrying about the consequences only after the box as been opened.

 

[Pepperoni]

too many husbands would drive any woman crazy, I want one husband thank you very much.,

I would take an extra husband on payday . . .

 

[christsblood]

If it's determined that marriage is not an agreement between a man and a woman (in other words homosexuals can marry) then there should be no restriction on polygamy.

 

[crazyfingers]

Was there really ever an assumption that people would be married against their will?

I can only understand polygamy through what I know of monogamy, and I have never heard of people in the United States essentially told 'you're marrying me and you can do nothing about it.'

That's what happens in some off-shoot Mormon cults in the US. While it's illegal, underage girls are sometimes forced into polygamous situations against their will.

That said, I know of no reason to prohibit marriages where there are multiple wives or multiple husbands, provided that there is actually is free informed consent. It's not what I'd want for my life but so long as people enter into these things freely, I know of no reason to object.