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Improbable? Preposterous? Alarmist? Perhaps. But by no means illogical.The success of the same-sex marriage campaign in Ireland has advocates elsewhere in a state of high excitement, predicting that the rest of the (Western) world must quickly fall into line and legalise this concept. What then?As we know, there is a long line of “love” interest groups waiting to stake their claims for social recognition, and at the head of the queue are polyamorists.In fact, just before the Irish voted, The Independent (Ireland) ran a long feature story about the Emerald Isle’s polyamory community. Jade-Martina Lynch, who has achieved a modest amount of...

If we let gays get married, is polygamy next? Well, no, obviously, but this is an argument that comes up over and over; and it just happened again. This time, it was from Ben Carson, who's running for (and has no chance of becoming) President. He hinted to CNBC that "other groups" would deserve marriage if gay couples gained the freedom to marry. When pressed on what those other groups were, he eventually admitted that they might include bigamists. This is a suggestion that comes up a lot, even from the Supreme Court. Last mont, Justice Alito observed, "a group...

In a real-life Sister Wives polygamy event, a city in Louisiana says “yes to the dress.” Afterwards, several people line up to take multiple brides and grooms. It seems that DeQuincy, Louisiana, isn’t satisfied with the notion of monogamy. Polygamy is the word of the day, as several super-couples begin their lives together.(VIDEO-AT-LINK) Louisiana’s aforementioned city sees no issue in the matter. Actually, Mayor Tom Downey has a profound statement, according to News Examiner. “There’s no gosh darn reason that if a man loves a woman, and another woman and another woman and maybe even another woman, they shouldn’t all...

An Oakland family has found what they think is the key to a happy household: three parents. Two women named Melinda and Dani Phoenix and the man they both consider their husband, Jonathan Stein, are in a polyamorous relationship and parenting two babies together under the same roof. Melinda and Dani began their relationship as a lesbian couple and became domestic partners in 2010. A year later, Jonathan joined them as the third partner and the three married last summer in a ceremony that is not legally recognized. Now they’re sharing their story to raise awareness about polyamorous families and...

Three gay men from Thailand have tied the knot in what is thought to be the world's first three-way same-sex marriage. Happy newlyweds Joke, 29, Bell, 21 and Art, 26, took the plunge on Valentine's Day after exchanging their vows in a fairy-tale ceremony at their home in Uthai Thani Province, Thailand. The three blushing grooms are thought to be the world's only wedded male threesome and have since become internet sensations after photos from their big day went viral. In what they described as the happiest day of their lives, the three men were suited and booted for the...

Churchgoing Christians who support same-sex marriage are more likely to think pornography, cohabitation, hook-ups, adultery, polyamory, and abortion are acceptable. And it’s reasonable to expect continued change in more permissive directions. As mainline Protestant denominations increasingly accept the ordination of gay clergy and publicly affirm same-sex unions, the sociologist in me wishes to understand what this development means for people in those denominations. I’m not talking about subtle linguistic shifts. While the difference between speaking of marriage as a “civil contract between a woman and a man” and as “a unique commitment between two people” is obvious to those who...

When the fight for gay marriage began to gain traction back in the early years of the last decade, social conservative critics usually went beyond denying that marriage could be redefined to include same-sex couples. Many of them argued that homosexuals were much less inclined than heterosexuals to valorize the ideal of monogamy. Allowing gays and lesbians to marry would therefore introduce a polyamorous option into the institution, and adultery would come to be viewed as an acceptable option for all marriages.A spate of recent articles explicitly making the case for polyamory would seem to vindicate those conservative predictions and...

Earlier this month, TLC brought back "Sister Wives," a reality show featuring the Utah-based polygamist Brown family of four wives and 17 children, for another season. Since last season, the Browns struck down a major piece of state legislation that may pave the way for the legalization of polygamy under the guise of “religious freedom.” In a nod to anti-gay marriage advocates who warned the legalization of same-sex marriage would lead to other kinds of sexual freedoms, such as polygamy, the ruling is deemed a watershed moment for the rights of polygamist families— of which there is estimated to be...

When I met Jonica Hunter, Sarah Taub, and Michael Rios on a typical weekday afternoon in their tidy duplex in Northern Virginia, a very small part of me worried they might try to convert me. All three live there together, but they aren’t roommates—they’re lovers. Or rather, Jonica and Michael are. And Sarah and Michael are. And so are Sarah and whomever she happens to bring home some weekends. And Michael and whomever he might be courting. They’re polyamorous.

The normalization of polygamy would undermine our commitment to human dignity—our sense that each human being is to be valued as an end in him- or herself, and not merely as a means to others’ ends. Conservatives have long warned that the redefinition of marriage sought by the proponents of same-sex unions will prepare the way for a further redefinition of marriage to include polygamy. Some liberals have already done their part to fulfill this prophecy by assuming that the argument over same-sex marriage is over and by beginning to argue for a normalization of plural marriages. As I have...

As the battle for marriage equality rages on, a different, more obscure kind of sexual immorality is slowly rearing its ugly head: polygamy. Polygamy is defined as the "the custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time," a practice which directly violates the Biblical commandment instructing marriage to be between a single man and wife (1 Timothy 3:2, 12 and Titus 1:6). However, the secular media is increasingly attempting to normalize, and even glamorize this kind of perverted lifestyle. Showtime is airing an original series called Polyamory: Married & Dating, which follows two polyamorous families...

Residents in Auckland, New Zealand are questioning their council’s decision to subsidize a one-day conference exploring “queer polyamory” relationships. The Auckland Council, which serves New Zealand’s largest population, recently gave grants to various homosexual organizations, but it is the conference on polyamory that is causing a stir. Entitled “Poly Panel, Discussions around Queer Polyamory” is described on GayNZ as “a one day event exploring a framework of ethical, healthy polyamory relationships.” An advertisement for the event states: “Along with questioning heteronormativity, many LGBTI people question monogamous marriages and relationships.” According to the advertisement, the event aims to “break down some...

Brady Williams and his five wives are the stars of a new reality series on TLC. The six Williams family members decided to go public with their story in order to dispel myths about polygamy, including about sexual relations between Brady and his wives. "All of America is having sex," Brady told HuffPost Live. "It's no big deal to answer [questions]. We're not perverted, we're not twisted. We're normal – we're just normal times five." However, Dean Gregory Alan Thornbury of the school of theology at Union University in Tennessee has been quick to point out that polygamy, even within...

The A&E reality series Duck Dynasty nearly got derailed when one of its cast members echoed thoughts of many church goers regarding the gay lifestyle. Come March, TLC will bring polygamy back into its lineup, and it likely won't generate a fraction of the controversy that Phil Robertson's musings met. The one-hour special My Five Wives debuted last year on TLC, and now the network is offering nine new episodes of the polygamist clan. As TLC says in its press release concerning the show, "families come in all different shapes and sizes ..." The first new show will bow on...

With the ruling of a federal judge last week that declared part of Utah's anti-polygamy law unconstitutional, the left finds itself torn. Of course, with their ever-wavering consciences that are willing to go along with whatever seems the latest fad that tests our moral boundaries (especially in the sexual realm), some liberals say that it is time that we take a closer look at plural marriage. After all, if consenting adults want to enter into such relationships, what is the problem? In other words, as I asked over five years ago, what's wrong with polygamy? However, some liberals took comfort...

3:25:11 AM Polygamy comes out of the closet Michael Cook | 17 Dec 2013 | 7 tags : polyamory, polygamy, same-sex marriageKody Brown ABOVE, center, poses with his wives, from left, Janelle, Christine, Meri, and Robyn.. Is Utah’s ban on polygamy unconstitutional? Last week a Federal Court judge ruled that it is, after Kody Brown and his four wives, the stars of the reality TV series Sister Wives, challenged it.. Judge Clark Waddoups, of United States District Court in Utah, struck down provisions of Utah’s bigamy law, which make “religious co-habitation” illegal. Kody Brown, who belongs to the Apostolic United...

In Lawrence v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court, reversing its own then-recent holding in Bowers v. v. Hardwick, ruled that laws against homosexual sodomy are unconstitutional–even though the Constitution says nothing about sex, let alone sodomy–on the ground that the right of privacy (also never mentioned in the Constitution) protects all consensual, private sexual contact between adults. Lawrence immediately was seen as a milestone in the campaign for gay marriage. Some conservatives noted that the Court’s rationale would protect polygamy, too, but they were denounced as killjoys. Lawyers noticed, however. Soon after Lawrence, several lawsuits were commenced in federal...

(VIDEO-AT-LINK) Polygamy is back in the headlines. Last week, a federal judge in Utah struck down part of the state's anti-polygamy law as unconstitutional, although he kept the ban on possessing more than one marriage license at a time. Fans of the "Sister Wives" reality TV stars, who filed the suit, are rejoicing in the news. At the other end of the spectrum, TLC debuted its newest docuseries, "Breaking the Faith," which tells the dark story of women and children trying to escape from the practice. Another lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice alleges that polygamous clans are secretly...

The Republican was once savaged for suggesting polygamy could become legal if the Supreme Court killed anti-sodomy laws. Now a judge has ruled against Utah’s anti-polygamy statute. A decade ago, Rick Santorum said polygamy, among other things, would be allowed if bans on sodomy were struck down by the Supreme Court. “Sometimes I hate it when what I predict comes true,” the once and likely future Republican presidential candidate tweeted Sunday after a federal judge decriminalized polygamy in Utah. Judge Clark Waddoups ruled late Friday that parts of the state’s law are unconstitutional, based on a Supreme Court ruling that...

As most Americans were thinking thoughts of Christmas cheer, a federal judge in Utah dropped a bomb on the institution of marriage, striking down the most crucial sections of the Utah statute outlawing polygamy. Last Friday, Judge Clark Waddoups of the United States District Court in Utah ruled that Utah’s anti-polygamy law is unconstitutional, violating the free exercise clause of the First Amendment as well as the guarantee of due process.In one sense, the decision was almost inevitable, given the trajectory of both the culture and the federal courts. On the other hand, the sheer shock of the decision serves...