WHY IS BIGAMY ILLEGAL? David Benkof

With the various comparisons between SSM and polygamy, there's one difference that I think needs more attention: while (virtually) nobody is advocating outlawing private gay weddings, it's illegal for a man to privately marry more than one wife.

That leads to the following situation:

If a man has sex with several women and promises to take care of them and their children forever, we call him a bigamist and put him in jail, yet...

If a man has sex with several women and ignores them all, we call him a professional athlete and put him on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

I think opponents of SSM should also support repealing anti-(private) bigamy laws, the idea being that in a free society anybody can have whatever private ceremonies and living arrangements they see fit, but only one-man-one-woman relationships get the special government sanction we call marriage.
posted by Eve at 10:37 AM | link

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