A new topic of concern that is in need of much deliberation and discussion was raised on LinkedIn recently by Dr. Elizabeth “Eli” Sheff, and I want to address this issue, too.
It’s the question: Should Polygyny marriages be recognized now, too?
Naturally, people are starting to be concerned about “what’s up next” in the good old USA? Probably the same folks who opposed same-sex marriage are the ones with the most fear that legally recognizing same-sex marriage will inevitably lead to plural marriage. Yet historically, polygyny has been far more popular than monogamy in several countries and religions, at least for men of high status or those who can afford it.
Yes, we know that recognizing safe-sex marriage would automatically stir up another hot pot of bewilderment, panic and continued opposition for those who believe their way is the only way it should be. The 24 thousand dollar question is this: Did recognizing/legalizing same-sex marriage profoundly change the definition of marriage so that now “marrriage” has assumed the capacity for many alternative interpretations? Or, does the institution of marriage need to be reclassified and redefined so that it’s definition is not dictated by the Bible which is a tunnel vision view to begin with? Poly relationships, families and marriages are nothing new to other cultures over lost time. The bigotry regarding marriage is most prevalent in mainstream America, where it has been the same for all minorities historically who have had to struggle with intolerance while shedding their blood to fight for the same equality which the Constitution promised all US citizens.
In retrospect, the USA government should have always preserved their honor and upheld support and protection to ALL of their citizens by maintaining the separation of church and state, and should have never let any religious groups dominate our legal process, and be powerful over our Constitution. That was big mistake #1 in my book, and I put a majority of the blame on the voters who repeatedly have voted to put prejudiced presidents in office who pay tribute to a religious belief instead of honoring the Constitution.
The bottom line is this, though I would not want a polyamorous relationship or poly marriage for myself, I believe they should be recognized in the USA, for the simple reason: marriage is about love not gender or numbers and who are we to dictate to other humans who they should love and how they should love, just because we don’t agree with it or it isn’t right for us. It appears to me that heterosexual marriages have an extremely bad history and reputation for happiness and longevity, especially in the past half century and their divorce rate is off the charts, so I don’t feel the het. population, who cannot lead or influence by any good example, have no right to dictate to other lifestyles or other sexualities how relationships should be governed. Frankly, it’s none of their business.
Just my two cents. Dr. Carla aka Charlayne E. Grenci, Ph.D.