Family Law Commons^™

Polygamy And Same-Sex Marriage - Allies Or Adversaries Within The Same-Sex Marriage Movement, Jaime M. Gher

William & Mary Journal of Race, Gender, and Social Justice

This article addresses the charged slippery slope accusation that permitting same-sex marriage will inevitably lead to the legalization of polygamy. While same-sex marriage advocates generally distance their cause from polygamy and its disparaging history when responding to such accusations, this article determines whether that response is appropriate, or alternatively, whether the same-sex marriage movement could benefit from linkages between polygamy and same-sex marriage. In conducting the analysis, this article presents a nuanced discussion of marriage and its varying forms. Specifically, it examines the United States' historical regulation of polygamy, interrogates analogies between polygamy and same-sex marriage, compares cross-cultural practices and …