The case for polygamy

[Berzerker]

yuppers

[MikeH]

I say leave it up to consenting adults... let them choose what they want to make work.

... even if it's a crap idea.

But make sure you have strong enforcement against all forms of mental/physical abuse of all parties involved for all forms of marriage.

[Jon Miller]

Marriage is state support of something. As I pointed out.

It isn't just the state allowing it.

The state already allows it, you can live in any number of people you want as consenting adults.

We aren't talking about what consenting adults can and cannot do. We are talking about societal/state support.

JM

[MikeH]

Society already allowed 2 men to live together.

[Heraclitus]

There are slightly more women than men because their life expectancy is slightly longer, if I recall correctly. At birth it's pretty much 50/50.

105 boys for 100 girls.

[Jon Miller]

Right.

I support gay marriage because I think that the state/society should support serious homosexual relationships.

Not because I think that homosexuals are being discriminated against/etc, by not having gay marriage as part of society.

I am heavily against that argument.

JM

[Heraclitus]

I expect (and hope and it is the reason why I support it) that with gay marriage that there will be more long term homosexual relationships.

Why? Its silly, monogamy is loosing social clout as it is, why would a group that's seen itself as part of a counter culture prop it up?

[MikeH]

Right.

I support gay marriage because I think that the state/society should support serious homosexual relationships.

Not because I think that homosexuals are being discriminated against/etc, by not having gay marriage as part of society.

I am heavily against that argument.

JM

I supported it for the latter reason, hence our difference here I guess.

[Heraclitus]

In an adulterous relationship their is the potential for a child to be born that one parent will have trouble claiming and bring a lot of stress into the primary relationship. In a polygamous relationship the birth would be an accepted and expected outcome.
Even though there are polygamy groups that practice forced marriage of children, and etc.. This is not the core of polygamy it would simply be that that group also practices forced marriage of children in addition polygamy. Some of the arguments presented made the jump that polygamy automatically leads to 20 kids. Well, that's like saying the octomom or jon and kate plus eight are the expected outcomes of the accepted parental systems we use today. Also, I there have been many points in my life where I have had romantic feelings for more than one woman. The only times it would be difficult is if they both wanted sex at the same time but not together. Otherwise a family with three adults would generally share the same goals and would possibly be in a better position to accomplish them. For example, food costs. For most food products the more you buy, the less it costs per person. Also, a certain amount of foods that are usually wasted would be less likely too.

+1

[Heraclitus]

The divorce rates often come from when people try to include polyamory in their relationships.

Perhaps if it was more accepted they wouldn't divorce?

[Lorizael]

Also, correlation != causation, in case someone hasn't already said that.

[MikeH]

Think it is too obvious to mention, but maybe not.

[Pax]

And the Bible makes clear that the multiple wives were Solomon's undoing.

That was my point about reading the stories of the old testament, which shows polygamous relationships... but hurt/etc coming from the polygamous aspect of them.

JM

" The Undoing of Solomon

Solomon's failings began toward the middle of his reign (1_Kings 11 ). By his own estimate, he took seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines. These wives were from nations that God had instructed the Israelites not to intermarry with. The results were predictable: he began to partake of the pagan practices of these women. Among other things, he built several high places to accommodate their various versions of Baal and similar deities.
The results of that were the baleful prophecy that the kingdom would divide after his death. He would not live to see that, but neither could he change that.
Toward the end, Solomon realized what tremendous mistakes he had made. He poured out his repentance in the Book of Ecclesiastes."



So it would seem, that Solomons' undoing came from marrying wives outside his religion.

[rah]

If I had 700 wives, I wouldn't have any time for concubines.

[Tupac Shakur]

I Argentina gay marriage was legalized by changing the law that defined marriage as between one man and one woman, to something like between 2 individuals.

It seems to me that once you change the genders in the traditional definition of marriage, there is no reason to not change the numbers, and that according to the modern world's point of view, if it tried to be consistent, outlawing polygamy would be discrimination.