Criminalizing polygamy is unwise

http://www.cordweekly.com/cordweekly/news?news_id=2368

Opinion
Criminalizing polygamy is unwise
Michael Kocheff Jan 14, 2009

It seems that polygamists, whenever they are mentioned, provide Canadians with a great opportunity to unite and express their disgust. What’s the big deal with polygamy, though?

Before proceeding, I feel it necessary to say that I disagree with the practice entirely. I wonder, however, should laws forbidding polygamy be entrenched into our national legal system?

According to the National Post, Winston Blackmore of the Bountiful polygamist community in British Columbia is claiming that the charges of polygamy brought against him are unconstitutional. In Blackmore’s view, his religious freedoms are restricted by Canada’s polygamy laws.

The man has a point. After all, no laws exist that discourage engaging in adultery, but the practice of polygamy is strictly prohibited.

In effect, you may not have more than one spouse but you are permitted to cheat on the one you do have.

What an awkward result produced by the law. We all have so much disdain for multiple marriages, but our opposition to adultery is not always so resolute.

Defending this legal and societal inconsistency requires us to prove that polygamy results in abusive relationships.

Many women who have escaped from Bountiful have described the emotional and physical abuse that they suffered while living in the community.

Professor Angela Campbell of McGill University, who conducted a number of interviews with the women of Bountiful, came to a very different conclusion.

She found that wives of polygamists in this community “act as stewards of family life.” They are responsible, with oversight from their husbands, for the family’s finances and maintaining peace within the home.

Furthermore, Campbell found that the women of Bountiful are “more diverse” and “less unaware” than the average Canadian believes.

For these and other reasons Campbell was hesitant to state that polygamy should be the subject of criminal prosecution.

Perhaps the problem is not polygamy, as abhorrent as the practice seems. Some women have been subjected to intense abuse while others, namely those whom Campbell interviewed, are satisfied with their lifestyle.

This suggests that the polygamy is not the real problem. In fact, if polygamy were legalized, these communities may not be as well-segregated from Canadian society as they are now.

Instead of steadfastly focusing on the polygamy problem, Canadians could begin shifting their focus to the reported abuses.

It is my sense that individuals like Winston Blackmore enjoy being different. This court case is Blackmore’s opportunity to show Canadians what makes Bountiful distinct and, in his mind, better than the rest of Canada.

Instead of entrenching this legal division we should declare the practice legal and invite Bountiful back into the Canadian society.

Many fear the precedent that such a ruling would establish. Convicting Blackmore of a short jail term does little to ensure the elimination of Bountiful, though.

If these men and women are convinced that they have discovered the truth, then let the law and Canadian society test them.

We can choose to continue ostracizing those who practice polygamy, something they would likely expect and enjoy. Alternatively, we can demand that polygamists prove themselves faultless.

If we choose to uphold laws that prohibit polygamy, we send a clear message to women who live in these communities. Maintaining a comfort zone, a division between Canada and Bountiful, is more important than your safety.

If polygamy is made legal, will individuals from outside Bountiful begin to marry many men or many women? Given current trends in the area of marriage and divorce, I think we can rest easy.