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POLYGAMY AROUND THE CORNER

Conservative leader, Stephen Harper, and Liberal MP, Tom Wappel, were ridiculed during the same-sex marriage debate last spring when they claimed that the same-sex marriage bill would lead to demands for the legalization of polygamous unions. It turns out, however, that they were right on the mark.

Same-sex marriage in Canada has only been legal for about six months, but already the demands for polygamy have been creeping out from the dark shadows and are gradually moving onto centre stage. The issue will soon be before the courts in BC.

This court case will result from a situation in the community of Bountiful, situated near Creston, BC, in the interior of the province, that has been the home of a renegade branch of the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons). This community's beliefs include polygamy as one of its tenets. It argues that polygamy is a legitimate way of life and marriage. The leader of the community and his assortment of wives have boldly appeared on TV, radio and in print, unabashedly discussing their joy and happiness about being in polygamous relationships and all the supposed advantages, (obviously for the male at least!) The Attorney General of BC, Wally Oppal, has merely blushed and looked the other way, and has not prosecuted the leader of the polygamous community. Why? Because he knows that with the passing of the same-sex marriage legislation, and the protection of religion in the Charter, there has been created serious legal problems for the Crown in prosecuting such a case. That is, to lay a charge of polygamy will be dangerous, since the courts could then follow the identical arguments heard once in the trumped up, same-sex marriage court challenges in 2003

Provincial Attorney General, Oppal, would have happily continued to ignore the polygamous business in Bountiful except for the fact that the Attorney General of Utah, Mark Shurtleff, came calling on him in late November demanding that something be done, as girls as young as 13 years of age have been crossing the border from Utah into Bountiful to be married off to much older men. Another troublesome issue is that some of the polygamous wives in Bountiful have begun to complain about their treatment and their lack of consent to their "marriage" arrangements. Also, young men have been ejected from the Community in order to avoid a competition for young wives with the older leaders in the community.

As a result of these problems, the RCMP has recently undertaken an investigation of Bountiful. Based on the RCMP's findings, the Provincial Attorney General may then be obliged to lay charges against the leaders of the polygamous sect in Bountiful.

New Debate on Polygamy

If so, a new debate on marriage, to legalize polygamous marriages will hit the public eye. The exact same arguments, that were used to recognize same-sex partnerships as legal marriages, will be heard again. One of these arguments will be that the failure to approve polygamous marriage is due to the stereotypical treatment causing historical disadvantages against people who love each other. Another argument will be that since the courts have conceded that procreation no longer provides sufficient reason to restrict marriage to heterosexuals, then there is no reason to restrict marriage to other sexual arrangements as well.

And why not? Take marriage away from its historically recognized essence of one man and one woman, and there is no logical reason to restrict other marital arrangements, such as those who love two women, or bisexuals who have a sexual desire for both sexes. The fact that these arrangements are currently prohibited under the Criminal Code is no argument because homosexual conduct was also illegal until relatively recently. The laws against polygamy can also be similarly changed.

What a mess the courts have created! In their zeal to be liberal and progressive and to make the world aware of their trailblazing spirit, the Canadian judges have made fools of themselves and us. They are also tearing down the foundations of society, while establishing a dangerous precipice on which the institution of marriage is now tilting.

Polygamy Established Elsewhere

Canada, however, isn't the only nation facing the problem of polygamous marriages. For example, Norway's Directorate of Immigration has reported that, despite the illegality of polygamy in Norway, it is becoming increasingly prevalent, since Norway liberalized the "marriage" laws by allowing legal civil unions for same-sex couples. Now Norwegian men travel abroad to meet and marry women, where polygamy is legal. Then they bring their new "wives" to Norway to live together under legal civil unions, in one, happy, polygamous harem.

The Netherlands

The Netherlands is experiencing this problem in a very big way. In September 2005, the government approved a polygamous union when a Dutch man and two women were given a license for their three-way legal union. The male in the union claims that, since both of his "wives" are bi-sexual, there is no jealousy between them - they're all just happily loving one another.

Ill Effects of Same-sex Marriage

The common theme when same-sex marriage was argued last spring in Canada was that the Netherlands had experienced no ill effects from same-sex marriage and that the issue was no longer contentious there.

Had the actual situation in the Netherlands been disclosed, however, the story would have been much different. It would have disclosed that there has been a substantial increase in out-of-wedlock births and parental cohabitation as a result of the legalizing of same-sex marriages in that country.

That is, the broad Dutch acceptance of same-sex marriage, which detached marriage as an institution from parenthood in the public mind, has led to substantial changes in Dutch society. In addition same-sex marriages have also now started the Netherlands down the slippery slope to group marriage. The Dutch Minister of Justice, Piet Hein Donner, recently refused to ban group marriages as he states that multi-partner marriage contracts serves a "useful regulating function". In short, it is difficult to withhold equal standing for another organized sexual minority once same-sex marriage is accepted.

Polygamy in the US

The pressure for group marriage has also started in the US. The Unitarian Church, headquartered in Boston, played a key role in the legalization of gay marriage in Massachusetts. That church has now begun to promote public acceptance of polygamy and polyamory, (which refers to open stable relationships among more than two people, blending heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality). Unitarian ministers in the US are already are performing "joining ceremonies" for polyamorous families.

Status on Polygamy in Canada

With the overlapping of same-sex marriage rights and the co-habitation contracts such as occurs in Holland, it was understandable that the Canadian Department of Justice and the Status of Women a year ago at a cost of $150,000 commissioned four separate studies on polygamy. The attention grabber paper on these studies was released in the middle of January this year. It was written by three feminist / lesbians, law professors at Queens University. These same individuals were among consultants retained by the Law Commission in its report "Beyond Conjugality" tabled in the House of Commons on December 2001. That Commission's report recommended that all close relationships should be recognized by law, not just the relationship of a man and woman in marriage. The Commission recommended also, of course, that same-sex marriage be legalized. In their study of polygamy, the three consultants advocated decriminalization of polygamy and urged that Canada, allow immigration by polygamous families. They also argued that Canada's current prohibition against polygamy in the Criminal Code may well be unconstitutional. Their study unfortunately, gave little attention to the children of such polygamous unions and the fact that polygamous families are plagued by spouse abuse, poverty and fathers not involved in the care of their children - apparently, not issues for these feminist / lesbians.

Justice Minister Cotler Misinforms Committee on May 12, 2005

In view of his department commissioning several studies on polygamy, it was disingenuous of the Liberal Minister of Justice, Irwin Cotler, to argue in his testimony before the House of Commons Committee studying the same-sex marriage legalization, on May 12, 2005 that polygamy, incest, etc. will not result from the passage of Bill C-38, since "bigamy and incest are criminal offences in Canada. That is the law of the land. That will not change." Perhaps Mr. Cotler believes Canadians were easily confused by his statements. Common sense tells us that if the government could make the revolutionary change in the definition of marriage, by opening it up to two "persons," regardless of their sex, then it is perfectly capable of making further amendments to the legislation at a later date for polygamy. That is, the courts may well find polygamous or group marriage an equality right on the grounds of the criteria for "equality" chosen by the Supreme Court of Canada in Law v. Canada [1999] I.S.C.R. 497. That is, when a person "feels" demeaned, by his or her exclusion from a law then the law is discriminatory. Why cannot that same criterion be applied to polygamy, incest, etc.?

Perhaps, also, Mr. Cotler was not aware that advocates of polyamory (group marriage) are taking their cue from the movement for gay marriage which is now the favourite cause of scholars of family law (see The New York University Review of Law and Social Change: "Monogamy's Law: Compulsory Monogamy and Polyamorous Existence 2004," Volume 29. Number 2). Polyamorists have long treated their inclination toward multi-partner sex as analogous to homosexuality. In short, the arguments for the logic of gay marriage extend to state sanctioned polyamory as well.

The truth is, by keeping the label and the legal status of marriage, but changing its meaning and concept, in the legalizing of same-sex marriages, this necessarily involves rejection of what marriage actually means and has meant for millennia. Marriage then means everything and includes anything and this means nothing.

Polygamy can and will become a serious problem for Canadians in the future.

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