Stepping Up

[badlydrawnjeff.livejournal.com]

And so it begins:

Kody Brown is a proud polygamist, and a relatively famous one. Now Mr. Brown, his four wives and 16 children and stepchildren are going to court to keep from being punished for it.

The family is the focus of a reality TV show, “Sister Wives,” that first appeared in 2010. Law enforcement officials in the Browns’ home state, Utah, announced soon after the show began that the family was under investigation for violating the state law prohibiting polygamy.

On Wednesday, the Browns are expected to file a lawsuit to challenge the polygamy law.

The lawsuit is not demanding that states recognize polygamous marriage. Instead, the lawsuit builds on a 2003 United States Supreme Court decision, Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down state sodomy laws as unconstitutional intrusions on the “intimate conduct” of consenting adults.

I'm in favor of gay marriage for the same reason I'm in favor of legal polygamy, legalized adult incest, and all the rest - the state really shouldn't be telling anyone else who they can and cannot be in a recognized relationship with, full stop. Unfortunately, I've found that many who agree with gay marriage do not feel the same way about these other types of adult relationships.

Why is it that "equal marriage" only exists for many when it deals with their idea of reality? Should hardcore advocates of gay marriage be lining up behind the Brown family in solidarity and support of their situation? If you believe the US Constitution allows for, if not outright mandates, gay marriage, do you feel the same way here?

Comments

[prog-expat.livejournal.com]

Trying again, hopefully without butchering the tag this time...

As skull_bearer put it, I'm fine for anything as long as its consenting and adult.

I'm more vocal about same-sex marriage than polygamy because it can be implemented today. The relevant laws are all written with the assumption of two adults, which is why those opposed have had to push through special laws defining/limiting the gender combination. Same-sex marriage is a drop-in upgrade, whereas polygamy requires a lot of work to revise the legal code to account for more than one spouse.

Although there's probably some observational bias given how taboo incest is (adult, consenting notwithstanding), it does seem like it's nowhere near as prevalent, so it can sit on the back burner. Yeah, it's a shitty numbers game, but there's a lot of work to be done to change societal perceptions before it would be practical to try and change the legal code in that regard. Hell, that tide just barely seems to be turning in regards to same-sex marriage.

[prog-expat.livejournal.com]

Oh, and as far as the suit in the OP: I'm ecstatic that somebody is finally making an effort to get this decriminalized. That is something that can be done right now.