With gay marriage will come polygamy
Image via Wikipedia In March, the popular HBO series “ Big Love ” ended its five-year run. The show about a polygamist household in Utah is as close as the vast majority of Americans will ever get to polygamy. Or maybe not. Shockingly, polygamy is on the rise in the West, especially in Muslim enclaves. And there are 30-50 thousand polygamists in the U.S., the vast majority living in Mormon splinter groups. And despite the rosy picture of polygamy painted by “Big Love,” Rose McDermott, who teaches at Brown University , will tell you that in the real world, polygamy is abusive and exploitative: Women in polygamous communities suffer “higher rates of HIV infection ,” increased incidences of domestic violence, and even a higher likelihood of dying in childbirth. To stem the abuses, McDermott urges governments to “think twice” before legalizing polygamy. But elected officials may not have any say in the manner. Since the 1960s and later, Roe v. Wade, decisions regarding marriage, fa