http://news.nationalpost.com/...my-law-is-constitutional/

How does polygamy hurt women and children? I am not really well-versed on the actual practice of polygamy...

The theory is that polyamourous relationships deprive women of the full attention and resources of their mate and harm children by early marriages (eg a 16 year old girl marrying a 45 year old man). If women where to have multiple husbands as well, it might even things out, but as it stands with the Mormons that's not the case.

I think the arguments of harm revolve around the female traffiking accross boarders, forced marriage of young teenage women to old men, etc. etc. that occur in most of the sects that are engaging in the activity on "religious" grounds.

darn fundamentalists


But really, I can barely handle one wife, how the $## can someone handle 2+ let alone 20.

it's probably going to end up in the supreme court...

You don't repress her enough then.

I agree with Silver... I don't want more than one wife, and I sure as hell dont want 20 kids! That sounds like a nightmare if you ask me.

She'd probably strangle me in the night or something then lol... I should have listened to that "If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life" song... dang it! words of wisdom too late.

bah, we already have to deal with everybody else's kids. what's it matter if they're actually yours?

I dont understand, are people trying to say woman have rights????

What about polygamy with 2 husbands? Man rights!

the iroquois used to be right that:P

i'm never sure exactly what Scode means when he mentions women. does she have 6 teets or just 2? hmm, does a ewe have 6 teets? been so long...

I am pretty sure your mum has 4 teets.

There's a difference between Polygamous and Polyamorous


Polygamous= 1 person with multiples spouses. IS what happens in Fundamentalism and some third world countries, Historically this has been a repressive form of life for women, though in some cultures a man must have the resources in order to do this, (imagine a culture where war has decimated the war male population, and where females historically have not had must in the area of job oppertunities, marrying a well to do guy, that can afford multiple wives is a way to secure food, shelter/clothing and security for kids.) Though not an in my mind an applicable situations to the US in the US's current state....I remember meeting some Africans in college who came from a Polygamous culture...they convinced me much to my surpirse that in certain situations this institution may be ncessarry, but hoped that all societies could move past it.....

Polyamorus= multiple couples sharing space/resources/partners, Usually understood as each couple having a "primary" partner, though involved with other partners in the house is permitted (and often any "partners" outside of the house forbidden.) This model has significant economic implications and possibilities, though the complexites of the relationships are mindboggling:)

+1 Servant.

Polygamy is viewed as, treated as and equated to 1 male multiple females in marriage and harmful to women / children (as in this case) because that is how it has most often taken shape. The definition could just as easily refer to 1 woman multiple men, but that's rarely come up, much less been contested.

Polyamory has been around in many forms for a long time and there are lots of resources both on the subject in general and on the complexities, concerns and pitfalls that await anyone embarking on that path. Tread with caution. Make sure you understand and are capable of compersion before you ever start.

yea and to think about christmas. one must have a great job to buy all the kids presents and diamonds for there wives. lol just one is more than enough. and when were done im done.

It's strange how much weight is given to a very localized practice of polygamy in order to judge its effect within our culture.

In North America the open and popular practice of polygamy has been defined by the practice within the LDS church and/or its splinter groups. First of all, the motivation of the practice within the church setting makes people's reasons different from most other people who would want to live in such a manner. It's a totally skewed sample. Mind you, there is not much of a sample within North American society. It's akin to judging and defining homosexual relationships by the stereotypical gay bar scene of the 80s.

In North America we favour the experimentation of institutionalized homosexual relationships and alternative lifestyles but collectively we've got this undying resistance to polygamy. Obviously it is rooted in a cultural hangup but my question is what is the primary cause this hangup is lingering for so long and so steadily, whereas other cultural no nos are becoming acceptable and encouraged? Is the hate on polygamy being reinforced on purpose by showcasing the cults that live in secluded compounds? Or does it linger because mainstream Christianity and media continues to couple polygamy with Mormonism, and for 180 years the disdain for Mormonism, from the secular side and the mainstream Christian side, has flavoured and reinforced the hangup on polygamy?

We're not in a tribal society anymore and people's social standing is not determined by their descendants. Males are avoiding 1 dedicated partner and children, let alone 2 or 3 partners with a litter of kids. There is not a social motivation to practice polygamy. Rather, it seems we're more inclined to esteem multiple temporary partners. With all that in mind, and with NA society (minus the secluded cults) vastly different than previous and present societies where polygamy occurs, why can't it be opened up so that those who practice it don't have to keep it underground? Does anybody really think multiple dedicated partners would become an issue when we're trending towards a society made up of singles with temporary partners?

I'm somewhat baffled by how people can be open minded about allowing other historically prohibited and underground activity while disallowing the same thoughts with polygamy. Are there any statistics on the # of men and women that are inclined to polygamous relationships? Like it's estimated that 3% of the population is homosexual, is there a percentage of people inclined to polygamy when it's not mandated by religious authority or used as power tool within tribal society?

Hmm...muslims practice polygamy. The rich ones at least, and some really stupid poor peeps who think they can support more than one wife at a time lol.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA2FjhXdydI

Dear Pang, you've got it wrong....

http://www.youtube.com/...mZ97c&feature=related

I don't think I'm wrong, I think they go together perfectly :)

i think it has something to do with women being counted as people now. it didn't matter when we could just trade them like they were just pieces of livestock. not sure why it matters now, since a person can get divorced and married multiple times during their life. near as i can tell, if it's consentual to all members of the marriage, why shouldn't it be legal? lotta farking "I do"'s though.

All I know is homosexuals need to be vehemently opposed to the polygamist movement since the fundamentalist Christian argument against same sex marriage is that it's a slippery slope towards legalized polygamy/marrying animals/inanimate objects etc....

oats's long post there seems to be exactly what the fundamentalist Christians fear would happen if they yielded on gay marriage.