Polygamy, the law, and you

Forgive my my mental diarrhea, I'm just riffing here and haven't bothered to edit or firm up my arguments. A delicate mini rant, if you will.

Okay, I'm back on the polygamy tip. There's a debate going on at a board I frequent, about gay marriage. As it always does, the discussion has turned to the subject of polygamy. As in, "If we let the gays marry, the next thing will be allowing polygamy." And don't even get me started on the marrying animals rant.

What's with the Right's argument, here? For a group whose members often claim to accept the Bible as the literal word of God, they sure like to pick and choose. The Bible is FULL of polygynous marriages. And if it's in the Bible, it's okay, right? Like slavery. Or killing all the women and children during war. Rape.

It's not like these guys are stealth husbands, secretly marrying women without their knowledge, sneaky thief spouses. The women are fully aware of what's taking place. Yes, yes, there are groups like Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS), who essentially hold their women hostage (there's an actual Underground Railroad for those who want to escape). There are also, though, thousands of families throughout the country who simply believe in the Principle. I'm fairly certain that the women in these relationships were receptive to the idea and didn't wake up one morning with some random guy claiming that they were now part of his family.

I don't see how ANY group of people who want to be part of a family unit, who want to raise children (or not), garden, mow lawns, pay taxes, and participate in society, shouldn't be able to, out in the open, and with no shame.

I lived in the Castro District in San Francisco for several years. It is the gayest area of the gayest city in the country, possibly the world. Seeing GLBT couples walking down the street holding hands; kissing; strolling with their kids; hell, shopping for groceries seemed to me like the most normal thing in the world. I suspect that the sight of a plural marriage group, composed of adults who entered into it with open minds and full hearts, should be the same.

eta: I totally spaced that I hadn't posted my original polygamy post yet, so it's down below. Duh. Baby brain!