Is Polygamy Legal Usa

In 2005, the attorneys general of Utah and Arizona released an introduction to help victims of domestic violence and child abuse in polygamous communities. [42] It was subsequently updated four times, most recently in 2011. [38] [43] [39] [44] The enforcement of crimes such as child abuse, domestic violence, and fraud has been placed above the enforcement of anti-polygamy and bigamy laws. The priorities of local prosecutors are not covered by this statement. Many U.S. courts (e.g., Turner v.S., 212 Miss. 590, 55 So.2d 228) treat bigamy as a felony with strict liability: In some jurisdictions, a person can be convicted of a crime even if they reasonably believed they had only one legal spouse. For example, if a person mistakenly believes that their ex-spouse is dead or that their divorce is final, they can still be convicted of bigamy if they marry a new person. [18] The history of Utah`s punishment for polygamy never completely stopped its practice, but rather pushed it to the margins of society and created a culture of fear that allows perpetrators to thrive, Henderson said. In the United States, 20% of people believe polygamy is morally acceptable, according to a 2020 Gallup poll. [56] In Canada, polygamy is an offence under section 293 of the Criminal Code, which carries a penalty of up to five years` imprisonment,[3] but prosecutions are rare.

As of January 2009, no one had been prosecuted for polygamy in Canada for over sixty years. [4] That changed in 2014 when polygamy charges were laid against Winston Blackmore and James Oler. [5] In Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church condemns polygamy, as do most Protestant churches. However, the Lutheran Church accepts some polygamists and the Anglican Communion decided in 1988 that polygamy was permitted in certain circumstances. With the exception of Solomon Islands, polygamous marriages are not recognized in Europe and Oceania. In India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore, governments recognize polygamous marriages, but only for Muslims. In Australia, polygamous marriage is prohibited, but polygamous relationships are common in some Australian indigenous communities. In Indonesia, polygamy is legal in some areas, such as Bali, Papua and West Papua. Balinese Hinduism allows polygamy, practiced for centuries by the Balinese and Papua. Protests against the ban on polygamy and polygamous marriages took place in Indonesia in 2008, but did not lead to changes to the law. Polygamy is the practice of having more than one spouse.

In particular, polygamy is the practice of a man taking more than one wife, while polyandry is the practice of a woman taking more than one husband. Polygamy is a common model of marriage in some parts of the world. In North America, polygamy is not a culturally normative or legally recognized institution since the colonization of the continent by Europeans. Polygamy is a remnant of the early teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, based in Utah, whose members fled persecution in 1847 to settle in Utah Territory. The Church disavowed polygamy in 1890 as a condition of the state of Utah, and today members of the faith who practice plural marriages are excommunicated. While bigamy is still technically a crime in the United States, polygamy is essentially already decriminalized. In some states, a couple can be legally married (husband/wife, husband/husband or wife/wife), live with another married couple, and claim that all four are married to each other (but not legally). Such agreements are highlighted by the Supreme Court Lawrence v. Texas (2003), in which the court stated: “Freedom presupposes self-autonomy which includes thought, belief, opinion, and certain intimate behaviours.” As Justice Antonin Scalia acknowledged in the dissent, the Lawrence decision could be used to legalize bigamy and would constitute a “massive disruption of the current social order.” Group marriage is an umbrella term for marriages involving multiple husbands as well as multiple wives.

Polyamory is the practice of having multiple romantic relationships, with all parties having complete knowledge and giving full consent. Not related to marriage. Polygeny is the (outdated) theory that the different races of humanity evolved from different ancestral groups. This term has nothing to do with polygamy, but is sometimes confused with “polygyny”, so it is included here for clarity. A federal judge struck down the anti-polygamy law as unconstitutional.