Wednesday, December 03, 2003 - Apache Junction, Arizona, USA
POLYGAMY
Every time the far right talks about gay marriage, they talk about polygamy in the same light. Let me make one thing clear so I don't appear a hypocrite. If you're a woman who thinks sharing one schwantzdikka with 3, 10 or more women is a good thing and you want that lifestyle for yourself, then you should be legally entitled to marry a polygamist. In a free country, you should be able to marry whomever you want no matter what anyone else thinks about it.
But that's the key ~ ADULT and whomever YOU want, NOT whomever you're FORCED to marry. It's also wrong when some married guy sneaks off behind his wife's back and marries two or three other woman so he can have a wife in every port. That just don't cut it. And that's the problem I have with polygamy. Women usually aren't given a choice. That’s also why there are laws concerning polygamy in this country – to protect women’s rights.
In the case of Mr. Green (pictured above), he married his extra wives when they were 14 or 15 years old. This required the “consent” of their parents. Actually, in these Mormon break off sects, marriage is arranged between the parents and the bridegroom, who is usually 10 to 40 years older than the new “wife”. The young girl has NO say in the matter. Should she dislike the idea, she is mentally barraged and even physically beaten until she agrees to comply.
Polygamist refuges like the towns of Colorado City (formally Short Creek) and Hildale on the Arizona/Utah border are rife with stories of young girls being tortured into submission and married off to much older drones with multiple wives. In my opinion this is child abuse at its absolute worst, cloaked in religious overtones.
Where do the law enforcement agencies of Arizona and Utah stand on these polygamist colonies? State district attorneys turn their eyes in the other direction, offering lame excuses. Local authorities belong to the church and force girls to return to their “husbands” in accordance with the law of their religion. For young girls living in these communities, it's a no win situation. They are forced into these marriages and the state does little or nothing about it.
Also, if a husband goes off and marries another woman without telling her about his other wife and maintains both households, that should remain illegal. It’s wrong to deceive anyone and guys like this should be thrown into jail and usually are when they are discovered.
My view is either totally enforce the laws against polygamy or change them. Make it legal for women over the age of 21 to marry whomever they choose. Make it illegal to marry off children under the age of 18, period. Make it illegal for a person to be forced into marrying another against their will. Then, actively enforce those laws.
But if a group of adult women WANT to marry the same guy, why should the government care? I don’t. That’s their business. Now before you freak out about this, think of the possibilities. Imagine what would happen in Hollywood if this were the law. The gossip rags would be full of chitter-chatter over whether this or that star would be adding to their harem of 30 or so wives or husbands. It seems nonsensical to me, but at the rate these people sleep around anyway, who would really mind?
Now don’t EVEN throw your Bibles at me. I don’t have to tell you how many wives the patriarchs married. Also, other countries seem to do quite well in allowing legal polygamy. It’s not my cup of tea, but if people consent to such idiocy, who am I to say they shouldn’t be allowed to do that? People should be able to marry whoever they choose. It’s a fundamental right and should be protected.
©2003 Marcia Ellen "Happy" Beevre
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