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Lorraine Large

H.L. Gossard

English Composition 1

Monday/Wednesday 1

13 February 2015

Legalizing Polygamy

Legalize Polygamy is an article written by Jillian Keenan, which simply expresses her

views on legalizing polygamy. Keenan believes that if people are so intently focused on the hu-

man right of marriage equality, that the government should be fair and not only consider same-

sex marriage in all states, but also look into allowing polygamist marriages as well. She believes

that legalized polygamy in the USA is a very feminist-empowering choice, which would help

strengthen the families who support the decision, mainly the women and children. “Loving them

is simple. It's like breathing, waking up in the morning, putting one foot in front of the other. It's

one of those things you do unconsciously, something so deeply ingrained in your psyche and

your way of being that you never question it.” (Brown) Says Kody Brown, in his book Becoming

Sister Wives: A Story of an Unconventional Marriage.

For years, polygamy has been looked down upon by many members of our society. This is

an understandable concept, considering that the logic that was once built by the Latter Day Saint

communities out West, who have been known to force underage girls and or women into these

polygamist unions against their will. Those who resist the unions often end up homeless or

poverty-stricken at young ages due to the cultures that they were brought up in. This is not the

type of polygamy Jillian Keenan is pushing for; but instead, she is promoting the legalization of
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consensual adult polygamy, which would not condone child abuse or children being forced into

arranged marriages, but could possibly help eliminate those crimes one day in the future. On

June 26, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court in the Lawrence v. Texas case, established that individu-

als have the full right to engage in private conduct without government intervention. This has

brought enormous developments towards the civil rights of adult, freely-consenting, non-

abusive, marriage-committed polygamists (Pro-Polygamy).

Even though polygamy is frowned upon by a large portion of the American society, there

are still families who practice it in healthy and morally conscious ways, but unfortunately, they

are all driven into isolation due to judgement, ridicule, or overall conflicting opinions of others.

Keenan states in the article, that children in polygamous communities are taught to fear the po-

lice and are not likely to report an abusive neighbor if they suspect their own parents might be

caught up in any type of subsequent criminal investigation. But in a United States with legalized

polygamous marriages, responsible and healthy plural families could emerge from the shadows,

making it easier for the authorities to zero in on the criminals who remain there (Keenan). Many

people continue to believe polygamous families are incapable of raising children correctly. John

Witte Jr. states in the Washington Post that “Children are harmed because they are often set in

perennial rivalry with other children and mothers for affection and attention of the family patri-

arch.” (Witte). Although Witte makes a good argument, it is somewhat unrealistic due to the fact

that children in monogamous families tend to naturally rival their siblings for the positive atten-

tion of their parents, as well as children or wives in polygamous families would rival each other

for attention.
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Another large aspect of this topic, is the constitutional human right of freely expressing

one’s own religious beliefs. Legalizing polygamous marriages would help protect these families’

religious beliefs and practices as well, seeing as a large majority of polygamous families are

typically fundamentalist Islamic or Mormon families. There seems to be no legitimate reason as

to why level-headed adults who choose to be in polygamous relationships are not allowed to

simply sign marriage contracts in order to express their freedom of religion as well as the faith in

their own marriage(s). Since polygamy itself is considered illegal in the country, nobody truly

knows how many Muslims and/or Mormons in the United States live in polygamous families.

According to academics researching the issue, the estimates range anywhere from 50,000 to

100,000 people (Hagerty).

Marriage is a very fluid term, and same-sex marriages are legal in more than half of the

United States. More people should reconsider the fact that a consensual marriage between two

adults, whether they are heterosexual or homosexual couples, should not be judged. It is their

constitutional right to be married to the one (or two, or four, or seventeen) person(s) they share

that special bond with. Polygamous couples have every right to get married to as many partners

as they find necessary. Marriage equality is something that should be strongly reconsidered; if a

woman chooses to marry a man who has seven other wives, that is her decision. A woman’s

choice and beliefs should not be looked down upon, but should be respected instead.
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Works Cited

Brown, Kody. Introduction. Becoming Sister Wives: The Story of an Unconventional Marriage.

New York: Gallery, 2012. N. Print.

Hagerty, Bradley. "Some Muslims in U.S. Quietly Engage in Polygamy." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web.

15 Feb. 2015.

Keenan, Jillian. "Legalize Polygamy." Slate. John Alderman and the Washington Post, n.d. Web.

14 Feb. 2015.

"Polygamy = Marriage." Pro-Polygamy. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.

Schwartz, John. "Polygamy as Lifestyle Choice, and a Reality TV Brand." The New York Times.

The New York Times, 08 Jan. 2014. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.

Witte, John, Jr. "Why Not Polygamy?" OnFaith. Center for the Study of Law and Religion at

Emory University, 09 Nov. 2012. Web. 14 Feb. 2015.