Polygamy and religious liberty

 By Troy Bowles

The State of Texas has finally managed to convict Warren Jeffs and send him away for life. He’s had this coming for a very long time, but this is hardly a time for satisfaction or gloating. It’s time to take action again. The irony that Texas had to finally put this criminal away should be a painful jab to all of us here in Utah.

Activists have dedicated their lives to exposing these sex abuse problems and we have been met with little more than reluctance, if not outright resistance, when it comes to investigating them. Some have even had their lives threatened.

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has used the extremely poor excuse that we haven’t the resources to investigate these crimes. To be fair, he said he didn’t intend to prosecute polygamists who aren’t abusive, but we can’t guarantee equality of human rights in this sort of situation.

Women in polygamous societies are under duress. They aren’t entirely at liberty to express themselves. They have undue responsibilities simply because of their gender and the whole system makes them scarce. Men of all ages start pressuring young girls to marry early, and as in the case of Warren Jeffs, the dominant males take excess to the detriment of everyone’s human rights. It is a system that is stacked against the young people, regardless of their gender but also because of their gender.

There is no healthy society that can sustain polygamy. All of these groups cast off young men who are unable to marry and are faced with lifetime bachelorhood. But these young men aren’t spared the commandment to become polygamists themselves. It’s hardly a fair situation and many young men leave and go on to lead broken lives. Most of them have never known any other life and end up in severe culture shock. The women who are left behind are obligated to provide themselves, including their very bodies, as the means to the man’s glory in the hereafter. And the men compete amongst themselves fiercely, especially for the younger ones.

Above all, this is a question of human rights. If we didn’t have a human rights society, we would surely have religion, but there would be no freedom of religion. Human rights are fundamental. Religious liberties have a place as long as they don’t come at the cost of anyone’s individual human rights.

With polygamy, it’s not a simple matter to allow its practice as a private religious ritual. Polygamists who argue that the law limits their religious liberties are inevitably asking for the right to make polygamy into a moral imperative within their closed societies. This is not a religious liberty. And forcing girls as young as 12 into consummated marriages in the name of religion is a particularly hideous offense.

There is no question that polygamy must remain illegal, and there is no excuse for refusing to prosecute offenders. It is a whole system of abuse. Jeffs is not the only offender. He had thousands of people enabling him to commit his crimes. The deeds for which he was convicted took place while he was already a fugitive from the law.

What we have learned about Jeffs is just the beginning. We need a cultural change of attitude. Liberal tolerance has brought us many benefits and we have advanced greatly in our efforts to protect human rights. But slavery had to come to a reluctant end and this religiously-coerced polygamy must end too. 

We have to ask ourselves where we should set limits for our tolerance.

Troy Bowles is a public philosopher specializing in human rights and justice. He received a BA in philosophy from the University of Utah in 2009. He lives in Salt Lake City.

**I feel privileged to have had a friend lead me to Tom awhile back when I had some questions trying to figure out so much in so little time. GREAT JOB, TROY! WE ARE PROUD OF YOU OVER HERE AT SISTER WIVES!!!

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(Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/52412726-82/human-rights-polygamy-religious.html.csp)

Lawsuit Filed in Utah to Legalize All Forms of Polygamy, Including Group Marriages

It’s been a few weeks since my last post, but, sadly, it’s not because there hasn’t been a number of topics to choose from. In my last post, I wrote about the New York legislature’s decision to legalize same-sex “marriage.” I also explained, to no-one’s surprise, that just prior to the vote, some already were bemoaning how same-sex “marriage” would be too restrictive because of society’s expectations of monogamy in marriage. Just days later, attorney Jonathan Turley (a law professor at George Washington University School of Law) filed a lawsuit challenging Utah’s law that makes it a crime to knowingly have a spouse and to marry or live with a third person.
The complaint is filed on behalf of the Brown family, who were featured on a TLC reality TV show about polygamy – Sister Wives. In the complaint, Mr. Turley explains that the law “wrongfully” prevents all forms of polygamy, which he describes as including “polygyny, polyandry, and other forms of ‘group marriages.’” To make sure we all are on the same page, he defines each term: polygamy refers to any and all forms of plural marriages; polygyny refers more specifically to a plural marriage of a man and more than one wife; polyandry refers to a plural marriage of a woman with more than one husband; and group marriage refers to a “family” consisting of multiple husbands and wives. Finally, he explains that there is yet another category that is distinct from polygamy — “polyamory.” He defines polyamory as “consensual relationships where participants have more than one sexual partner, including long term commitments to multiple adult partners.” All of these have one common feature, according to the complaint, they “believe that monogamous unions are artificially restrictive and run counter to the biological and emotional needs of human beings.” Yes, he’s arguing that people can’t help but have more than one sex partner so the government should just go ahead and condone it. According to Turley and the Brown plaintiffs, the state has no business in criminalizing these various sexual relationships.
How does he justify his argument? He relies on the US Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas, a court decision from one province in Canada to protect polygamy, the fact that we permit single people to live, and have children together, and, most offensively, the Bible. The first two reasons require very little discussion. Lawrence is argued by anyone seeking government recognition of sexual sin. What else would you expect from a court decision that proclaimed that the constitutional guarantee of liberty “extends beyond spatial bounds” and “presumes an autonomy of self” both “in its spatial and more transcendent dimensions.” Assuming anyone knows what that means, it certainly leaves the door open for people to argue everything (including, for example, pedophilia) is protected by the constitution.
The two arguments that merit more attention are the Bible and societal-based arguments. The complaint properly points out that in America today, we no longer criminalize (or even socially stigmatize) unmarried cohabitation, fornication, or adultery. If we don’t take these sexual sins seriously, so the argument goes, what basis do we have for saying that polygamy (or same-sex marriage) is wrong. I understand the argument, but don’t agree in the conclusion. Frankly, I think we should take more seriously all forms of sexual sin and take steps to legally discourage the conduct. The solution is not, however, to simply make it a free for all for all types of sexual sin. And the church needs to take the lead on strengthening its commitment to marriage.
Finally, let’s turn to the Biblical argument. I believe this argument demonstrates the worldview conflict that is at the foundation of the current legal battles to legalize same-sex marriage, and, now, polygamy. In the complaint, Mr. Turley makes the argument that polygamy is a longstanding religious practice and is condoned by the Bible. First, he explains that many of the Old Testament heroes were polygamists (referring to Abraham, Moses, and Davis) and “chosen by God to lead His chosen people.” Based on this, he argues, the Bible approves of polygamy. Of course, not being familiar with the Bible, Mr. Turley overlooks the fact that the Bible makes clear that marriage is a union between one man and one woman and that God did not condone of polygamy. What makes his argument even more ironic is that after using the Bible to make his point that polygamy is a longstanding religious practice, he then goes on to essentially say that most people don’t actually take the Bible as the literal word of God. Well, you can’t have it both ways – citing the Bible as fact, and then questioning that it is fact.
Hopefully, with this case, people will finally realize that the overall goal is to absolutely destroy marriage and eradicate any societal reliance on traditional moral values.

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Source: http://www.christianlawjournal.com/blog/lawsuit-filed-utah-legalize-forms-polygamy-including-group-marriages; Thanks to Female Attorney)

Why Polygamists Won’t Benefit from Gay Marriage’s Success (I Hope)

I have to think that there are some gay-marriage advocates who are not pleased with Kody Brown’s decision to appeal Utah’s anti-polygamy statute. As Jonathan Turley, who is representing Brown, writes in a recent New York Times op-ed,

In his dissent in Lawrence [v. Texas], Justice Antonin Scalia said the case would mean the legalization of “bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery, fornication, bestiality and obscenity.” Justice Scalia is right in one respect, though not intentionally. Homosexuals and polygamists do have a common interest: the right to be left alone as consenting adults.

I am one of those who has written about the deeply harmful effects of polygamy, particularly when it is rampant in a community, as it is in many places in Utah and New Mexico, among other states. I have written (in The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times and The Dallas Morning News) about the girls who are prevented from getting an education, the boys who are forced to leave their communities (lest they provide competition for the older men), the physical abuse, the sexual abuse, and all of the other criminal problems that come in polygamous communities. I also commend a recent piece by Brown University’s Rose McDermott in The Wall Street Journal about all of the problems that come with polygamy (she has done an international study of the problem). I’ve also talked about why it’s not feasible to simply prosecute the crimes as they occur, rather than prosecuting polygamy. (Hint: No one in these communities wants to report crimes because of the consequences they would face.)

But I’ll put that all aside for a minute and just add that I have watched Sister Wives a few times and each time I turn it off, cringing. It’s not because I find polygamy morally reprehensible, though I do. It’s because I feel sorry for these women. These episodes where Mr. Brown and his four wives are sitting on a couch seems like an attempt to show everything is fine and their family is perfectly normal. But then one of the wives starts complaining and then crying about how he is spending too much time with the other, that he finds the other more attractive, that he is spending more nights with the newer wife or whatever. It’s so degrading—even by the standards of reality TV. What are these women doing, sharing their beds with each other? I feel like playing some feminist anthem for them. And Kody Brown? A slick guy who just can’t wipe the smirk off his face. And why should he? He’s got everyone fooled.

Gay marriage has won the day with so much of the American public, I think, because gay couples look like the rest of America. I don’t think polygamists have the same advantage in their fight. And I have a hard time imagining they ever will.                           

                                                                                                                                                     

MS Note - I have to agree it's a totally different arena. An example, here's my favorite couple from the Modern Family,Mitchell and Cameron.

They are the loving, kind, and treat each other better than many married couples.

And, what a HOOT! Fisbo, you rock!! 

They don't believe in the Book of Mormon, and who's to say, their sins are any worse than ours? Only God is to judge that. Don't think they are worrying about any planets!hee hee 

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 (Source: July 25, 2011, 10:01 pm, By Naomi Schaefer Riley)