polyamoryus

[polyamoryus]

“she’s the love of my wife!”

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[polyamoryus]

The security that comes from understanding that it isn't just you two versus the world, but knowing there is an entire polycule to lean on, hold up, and build with. That is magic.

[polyamoryus]

[polyamoryus]

Polygamy Should Be Legal

(DISCLAIMER: Everything stated here is based on my opinions and experiences, and is written in the format of a persuasive essay.)

(ESSAY BEGINS HERE)

Polygamy is the act of being married to more than one spouse at a time. This is also illegal in multiple countries, including the United States of America, the country that is this essay’s main focus. Polygamy is not to be confused with the term polyamory, which is simply being in an open or closed relationship with more than one consenting partner. Polygamy should be polyamory with the involvement of marriage, but sometimes it isn’t due to lack of consent. 

There are many arguments on why polygamy should or should not be legalized. On the side of why it should not, people tend to cite generalized evidence that shows minors being involved in the marriages as spouses. This is not something polyamorous individuals are in favor of. It is impossible to find statistics on how many polygamous marriages actually involve minors as spouses because polygamous marriages are not legally recognized until legal charges are brought into place, and that is still only a small percentage of polygamous marriages. Along with this, the vast majority of polyamorous individuals who would like to be in polygamous marriages do not actually become involved in them because they wish to avoid legal charges over doing something as simple as marrying the people they love.

It is often claimed that legalizing polygamy will lead to less protection for child abuse and sexual assault survivors, but it must be kept in mind that there aren’t many polygamous marriages out there, and that those that do involve child abuse or sexual assault survivors would still be able to receive legal protection and persecution through laws against both those things. Along with this, child marriages wouldn’t even be effected by polygamy being legal or illegal because that is dependent on each individual state’s laws on age and consent requirements for marriages, not how many people are permitted to be involved in marriages. To properly address abuse, sexual assault, and child marriage, people must specifically speak against the current laws and call for reform within them, not within polygamy laws. Some states have recognized these things, and are now attempting to lessen the blows of polygamy laws because they find them to be unjust.

Another issue some individuals cite in regard to legalization of polygamy is that “wives” would potentially have a portion of their rights stripped away. This does not have to happen, and the constant use of the term “wives” is incorrect, it should be “spouses” because polygamous marriages can and would involve people of all genders in varying degrees, meaning they would not strictly be one man with several wives. All the rights currently given to spouses could remain in place, just with the chance of some slight editing being needed due to things like more than two parents being involved in custody issues. Things like power of attorney and ownership of the property of dead spouses could also be easily figured out be tying a bit more paperwork to the marriages, with it being put in place for the purpose of clarifying what will happen in any case where a spouse can’t make their own decisions. This is truly no different than what happens in any other legal case, as everything is viewed in a case by case basis, not generalized into what seems to loosely happen in the vast majority. Like everything else in the history of any nation, laws have evolved and been edited to fit the changing views of the nations’ peoples. 

The only other major argument often presented in terms of polygamy remaining illegal is that it is unethical, usually due to either personal or religious views of the individual speaking, and this is not a valid reason within the United States of America because there is supposed to be a separation of church and state, and of opinion and law. Some of the founding principles of the United States were to provide freedom of religion and speech (among many other things), and to keep religion and opinions out of the government’s decisions, all of which are still supposed to be being followed to this day. This has been a failed task multiple times throughout history, so it is not surprising that it continues to be an issue, but that does not mean that it is not a valid issue. This could also be a fixed issue upon proper following of and adherence to the nation’s principles.

Among these major arguments surrounding polygamy, there are also many small ones. These smaller arguments can be tackled in a similar fashion, with references and mentions of things like civil rights, human rights, the constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and historical events being used in favor of polygamy, rather than against it. There will always be differing opinions on polygamy, but it is important for every individual to remember that opinions are not supposed to influence laws, and to remind those around them of it too.

(ESSAY ENDS HERE)

For anyone wanting some further information/reading material on polygamy and polyamory, here are some links that appear to be solid sources for information. - 

1.    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/02/14/polyamory-everything-you-need-know-throuples-communication/4759860002/

2.    https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/28/health/polyamorous-relationship-meaning-wellness/index.html

3.    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/13/us/utah-bigamy-law.html

4.    https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/06/29/polyamorous-rights-advocates-see-marriage-equality-coming-for-them

5.   https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/human_rights_vol38_2011/human_rights_spring2011/should_polygamy_be_permitted_in_the_united_states/

6.    https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/polygamy

7.    https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/920/polygamy

8.    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/polyamory-relationships-how-common-is-non-monogamy-cbsn-originals/

9.    https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/11/05/polygamous-foreign-marriages-under-u-s-law/

[polyamoryus]

the rush of polyamorous pride i get when i say "one of my partners-" is indescribable

[polyamoryus]

[polyamoryus]

Ah yes. Me. My girlfriend. And my girlfriend. And my girlfriend. And my

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[polyamoryus]

Every minute of ever day I yearn to be in a pile of people I love, cuddling, reading, getting high, watching tv, literally whatever just the physical contact of people who love you.

[polyamoryus]

Goal:

Acquire a large enough polycule to fully crew a sailing ship; proceed to become the terror of the high seas.

[polyamoryus]

Day to Day Polyamory: Meeting New People

Them: So are you married, single, dating?

Me: Yes.

[polyamoryus]

Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017) dir. Angela Robinson

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professor marston and the wonder women // you’re the two // ferris bueller’s day off // les miserables // twelfth night // my girlfriend’s girlfriend // singin’ in the rain // apple candy // the great seducer // polyamorous

[polyamoryus]

[Image Description: A pink color block with text that reads “normalize polyamory”]

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via Jokko Art

[polyamoryus]

It’s so weird to me how people will see nothing weird about serial-monogamy, and can perfectly believe that someone can love several people in a row, but the moment you bring up having several partners at once, peoples’ minds are so… Blown.

What’s up with that?