Marriage Doesn't Have to be Monogamous

More and more people are questioning whether the polygamous freedom to marry should continue to be denied anywhere. At the forum community.babycentre.co.uk, MonaVanderwaal asked...

Should marrying more than one person be allowed in the UK?

Yes!

At the moment it is a crime punishable for up to seven years in prison.

Do you think it is an outdated law?

It's a ridiculous and unjust law.

If three+ people could prove they are happy in the arrangement, would this change your mind?

Visibility is important, but this is a basic matter of freedom of association. People have a fundamental right to marry. Some people are polyamorous or otherwise want more than one spouse. If all are consenting adults, there's no good reason to deny them their rights. You don't need to be aware of the polyamorous people around you who are in happy, long-term relationships to understand that all adults should have their rights.

Let's look at a few of the responses.

Peanuts78 wrote...

I don't really care what consenting adults get up to. It's not a set up I'd be interested in but as long as all are happy then I don't see that it's anyones business.

Thank you!

Lulu_84...

I agree that it would be open to abuse. I can imagine people ending up in some pretty s----y situations.

I know of many people who were abused in supposedly monogamous marriages and described those marriages as nightmares. Shall we ban the monogamous freedom to marry?

Lidbit...

How would people abuse it?

It's not for me and I don't quite grasp how it can be successful. But I believe in supporting consenting adults in their relationships.

Thank you!

twinklylights...

I agree it could be open to abuse, our laws were put in place for a reason.

Yes, both good and bad laws are put in place for a reason, but there's no good reason to deny this fundamental right.

Constant81...

I'd like to see a way for it to be made legal yes.

Thanks!

Lidbit returned...

The more I think about it, the more I think it should be allowed.

Marriage is a contract and requires consent from all parties to be valid. There are secretive polygamous communities in North America and they usually involve older powerful men from the community preying on the young girls to collect young wives. (there's a town Bountiful, British Columbia that comes to mind). If polygamy was legal, it could help protect these young girls and other vulnerable partners.

Exactly!

The anti-equality comments are straight out of the Discredited Arguments list. It's very simple. Let consenting adults marry. All of the paperwork issues can be resolved.