joel's thoughts

Ever since Lawrence v. Texas, in which the Supreme Court essentially told the government to stay out of the bedroom, there has been speculation that other…shall we say, “non-mainstream” lifestyles would start lining up at the “Be Accepted Now!” window.

As the Washington Post reports this morning, polygamists are piping up right on cue. And while I don’t agree with them, I can’t say I blame them for speaking up given the current social, legal, and political climate. It’s worth noting, as the Post does, that a distinction is being made not only in the movement itself but more significantly in the Utah attorney general’s office between “regular” polygamous practices (one adult man marrying multiple openly consenting adult women) and those of Tom Green, Warren Jeffs, and others involving things like rape, incest, and forcing underage girls into marriage. This distinction is based on the flipside of the premise of Lawrence, opting to focus on behaviors with real harm to minors which are addressed by non-polygamy laws rather than private actions between consenting adults.

One has to wonder, though, given the potential slippery slope provided by Lawrence, how soon we’ll have men trying to marry their dogs…