If Gay Marriage And Polygamy Are The Same, Someone Should Tell The Polygamists
RECENTLY, THE UTAH SENATE set the world on fire when they decided, unanimously, to soften the criminal punishment for polygamy.
Finding out what the bill actually does has been near impossible. Most commentators have said it will legalize polygamy, but Utah does not have the power to do that considering laws against polygamy are federal and they are a state government. What they are actually doing is, depending on your source, either decriminalizing it or softening the punishment for it.
Either way, right-wing commentators are up in arms over this. Many of them calming this is the end result of a country with gay marriage.
Having abandonded marriage as the union of one man and one woman, why *shouldn’t* we grant legal reconition to various poly configurations — Sohrab Ahmari
(Actually, polygamous relationships are much more “traditional” than monogamous ones. Humans have been on this planet for about 550,000 years, and other the course of that time, monogamy has really only been practiced for — I’ll be generous and say 1,500. And that’s ignoring cultures where polygamy is traditional, such as many Islamic ones. Hell, for a good 100 or so years, polygamy was allowed in the United States.)
However, I would like to focus on the supporters of this legislation. Specifically, how many of them seemed to be against the start of this slope.
Take Utah Governor Gary Herbert. Here is what Herbert said on same-sex marriage back in 2013:
I am very disappointed an activist federal judge is attempting to override the will of the people of Utah. I am working with my legal counsel and the acting Attorney General to determine the best course to defend traditional marriage within the borders of Utah.
Speaker of the State House, Rep. Brad Wilson, has spoken out against the idea of anti-discrimination laws for LGBT people in the state of Utah. Arguing that things should be done at the local level, mind you, but opposition is still opposition.
The President of the State Senate also is not some crazy liberal, in fact, he’s a follow named J. Stuart Adams. Here’s a section from an NPR transcript on what Adams did in response to the Supreme Court allowing gay marriage:
STUART ADAMS: In November of 2013, a federal court judge actually overturned that Constitutional amendment. And that sent shockwaves through the entire state. There were people that actually wanted to secede from the nation, if you can believe that.
INSKEEP: Instead, Utah lawmakers passed legislation that was backed by the Mormon church and by pro-gay rights organizations. It protects LGBT people in the workplace and elsewhere, although not in religious institutions.
ADAMS: Well, the question we were facing as to whether to strengthen our religious liberties and strike back and whether or not to have any type of accommodation for the LGBT community. The LDS church stepped forward, to their credit, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. And they said rather than try to run those issues separately, they said, we think there ought to be a bill that combines the two issues.
The part of what Senator Adams said that I find so important is “there were people that actually wanted to secede from the nation.” The fact is, Utah is not some kind of haven of liberalism, in fact, it was one of the many states to amend its constitution to ban same-sex marriage.
Here are the people Utah has brought to Congress:
Given that the United States is the predominant funder of the Organization of American States, it is of great concern that one of its international courts has issued an opinion recommending Costa Ricans to change their law [to allow same-sex marriage]. — Senator Mike Lee
Call me old fashioned, but I don’t support gay marriage nor do I support civil union. — Senator Mitt Romney
I wouldn’t want to see homosexuals teaching school anymore than I’d want to see members of the American Nazi Party teaching school. — Former Senator Orrin Hatch
Basically, if Utah is going to be the latest example of left-wing insanity, it’s odd so many people from that state are far-right. If this is the slippery slope, then I would first need to find where the slope is before I could see if they’ve been slipping down it.
