thegreekdog wrote:lgoasklucyl wrote:thegreekdog wrote:
Here we have a person who is pro gay marriage who is also anti-polygamy because he/she has a moral problem with it.
I have not once stated a moral opposition to polygamy.
a. I am supporting same-sex marriage, that's where the argument lies, polygamy is not currently relevant.
b. Many legal difficulties are presented with regards to polygamy that have nothing to do with morals.
Polygamy is relevant because the United States Supreme Court has deemed (albeit in the early 20th century) that the dangers of polygamy (having nothing to do with child abuse or consent by the way) outweigh the religious freedom of Mormons. In other words, the Supreme Court took a moral stand to say that laws against polygamy were constitutional with respect to the freedom of religion clause.
The date is the most significant part here in these arguments. At this time, even married heterosexuals could be prosecuted for er .. other than the "missionary position" in some areas, women did not have full rights (techincally perhaps, but not in reality), etc.
In other words, the Supreme Court did take various moral positions, did consider such things a matter of general safety, if you will, or just a societal level of right and wrong. Much of that has since been reversed or corrected. Polygamy has not been taken up again, for a lot of reasons. I agree that the biggest reason is that it does face more opposition than homosexuality.
However, I still say the arguments I put forth above are valid. Polygamy is not the same as homosexuality when it comes to state concerns or even safety. (I mean the children of those unions mostly, not underage marriages which are just a different thing).
thegreekdog wrote:[Gay marriage is, arguably, not covered by the Constitution (maybe right to privacy, maybe contracts, maybe free speech, I don't know). Anyway, many people find polygamy to be morally outrageous (mostly because of your b. and consent issues), much as some people find gay marriage to be morally outrageous. I find this to be hypocritical (although, at least three people have acknowledged that there is nothing wrong with consenting polygamy).
The biggest problem with homosexuality is that it is harder to have children. In societies that need, heavily "demand" more children, it can be a "threat". It also can be said to lead to further separation of the sexes. Men and women are different, we are united in marriage.
The issues with polygamy have more to do with power. Polygamist societies are, by necessity, very unbalanced power societies. If one man can have multiple women, then there are going to be a lot more young men without any women. This causes inherent problems in a society. It leads to more conflict, war, etc.
In the balance, in our modern world, most of the problems with homosexuality are either no longer real issues or just don't matter to people any more. The polygamist issues absolutely do matter and probably will throughout humanity. As long as polygamy is confined to a few small groups, it is not a big problem, except, perhaps for people within those groups. However, unlike homosexuality, which, should it spread, presents no inherent threat to society, Polygamy does present a clear and inherent danger.
thegreekdog wrote:Regarding your b. above, I would say that there are no legal difficulties with polygamy that do not also exist with homosexuality or heterosexuality. In other words, if I have homosexual relations with a person under the age of consent, I go to jail. If I have heterosexual sex with a person under the age of consent, I go to jail. If I marry three people under the age of consent, I go to jail.
Agreed, the topic is adult consentual relations. Kids, other non-consentual sex are something else entirely.