Polygamists in Utah are evidently taking a page out of the gay playbook to start pressing for polygamy marriage equality, with some success. They’ve managed to persuade the Attorney General of Utah to stop prosecuting people for bigamy, and without a Supreme Court edict, I might add. Though, before we go too far in comparing gays and polygamists, a few important differences should be noted. The structure of modern marriage is currently (and has been for centuries) defined by a two-person, monogamous commitment. Gays seek the right to be allowed equal access to that system, and have proven over time that their entry into that system will not create negative externalities on society (i.e. almost all studies conclude that children fare fine in two-person gay relationships and gay marriage in Massachusetts hasn’t seemed to do anything other than prove that marriage will continue to exist as a hallowed two-person institution just as it does currently).
In contrast, polygamist are not seeking to enter the system that exists on equal footing, but are seeking to redefine the current conception of marriage. There is no doubt that one could make arguments that the current system of marriage is strange (human monogamy for 30, 40, or 50 years is not exactly most in-keeping with human desires and biology) and had many negative externalities at its creation (i.e. exchanging women as property), but it is one thing to argue that you should be allowed equal access to an existing institution that has proved its good and bad points to society, and arguing for the creation of a new institution. Moreover, as of today, polygamy has shown itself to have a huge number of negative externalities, including child rape, female slavery, the creation of armed, separatist societies, and a lack of gender equality (I have yet to see the polygamist society where women are allowed to marry multiple men).
So, let’s not go comparing the two quite yet, mmkay?
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