Freely. Consenting. Adults.


Difference between my views and the polygamist practices in Arizona and Utah
One of the things that has been making the Phoenix news shows this morning is the ongoing case of Warren Jeffs.

It's one of those cases I would prefer not to touch, but the facts that I am in northern Arizona and I advocate unconventional marriages means that I have received some strange email the last few days.

In order to understand what has happened, you have to have some history. The towns of Colorado City, Arizona and Hildale, Utah are across the border from each other. Both were founded by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and many members practice polygamy with brides chosen by the church leadership for the men in the community. Yes, this included child brides. And since there weren't enough wives to go around, often boys and young men were exiled from the community.

The towns are very isolated. Colorado City is in the Arizona Strip, a section of Arizona that can only be entered from Utah and is cut of from the rest of Arizona. When the law enforcement from one state would make a ruckus, the citizens would just move across the border into the other state. For decades, Arizona in particular looked the other way. An attempt in the 1950s to "clean things up" cost a governor his career.

Things finally came to a head in 2005 and eventually Warren Jeffs was arrested and sentenced by Utah. He still has to be sentenced in Arizona.

I've nothing to do with the man or the FCLDS. I find the idea of arranged marriages for child brides despicable, especially if the groom is a much older man with several wives already.

When it comes to marriage, I believe in freely consenting adults. Beyond that, I don't really think any restrictions should apply.

Yes, I support same sex marriage. Yes, I think that polyamorous and group marriages are a good idea. And yes, I think year marriages would work very well in some circumstances. But the difference between me and Jeffs and his ilk is in those three words. Freely. Consenting. Adults.

If it is okay for a man to have several wives, then there is no reason that it is not okay for a woman to have several husbands. The only limit is that every adult has to consent.

That means no adultery. No secret affairs. If you want to have sex with someone different, then by all the gods your partner or partners had better consent to it.

That's tougher than you might think.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Sun - December 2, 2007 at 08:04 AM  Tag


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