Polygamy next in line?

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The argument proponents of same-sex "marriage" most fear in the coming debate on the Marriage Protection Amendment (MPA), and are doing their best to ignore or discount, is that legalized polygamous marriage is next if society accepts same-sex "marriages" as legitimate and legal.

Legalized polygamy? Surely you jest. Unfortunately, recent developments in the Netherlands portend the future in the so-called marriage revolution. Without passage of the MPA, legalized polygamous unions in the United States is more than a farfetched possibility.

An excellent article by Stanley Kurtz in the Weekly Standard ("Here Come the Brides," Dec. 26, 2005) documents that last Sept. 23, Victor de Bruijn, 46, and his 31-year-old wife, Bianca, were formally united with Mirjam Geven, a 35-year-old divorcee, by a notary public in the Dutch town of Roosendaal who validated the threesomes' union in a "cohabitation contract."

While Victor, Bianca and Mirjam are joined by a private cohabitation contract rather than a state-registered partnership or marriage, precedent indicates it's only a matter of time before the Dutch elevate similar unions to the same status of same-sex "marriage." Before same-sex unions were legalized in 2003, homosexuals adopted the incremental, "boil-the-frog" strategy by popularizing cohabitation contracts in the early 1990s. "So the use of cohabitation contracts," Mr. Kurtz says, "was an important step along the road to same-sex 'marriage' in the Netherlands. And the link between gay 'marriage' and the De Bruijns' triple contract was immediately recognized by the Dutch."

Even more significant is that while Mr. de Bruijn is a self-described heterosexual, Bianca and Mirjam are openly bisexual as are many of those advocating polygamous marriages in the United States. Mr. Kurtz notes that in 1999, the Unitarian Church established an organization to promote public acceptance of polyamory called Unitarian Universalists for Polyamory Awareness (UUPA) and that "most members of UUPA are either bisexual or heterosexual."

Until recently, most people have dismissed polygamists as being on the fringe, primarily limited to a few hundred errant Mormons trying to restore their long-discarded practice of plural marriage. Now welcome to the debate numerous bisexuals who want to join the "acceptance" bandwagon and share in the achievements homosexuals have enjoyed.

According to the Internet Wikipedia, "modern surveys report about 2 percent to 6 percent of modern Western populations as bisexual." Thus, in a nation of 300 million, there could be anywhere from 6 million to 18 million bisexuals in the U.S. -- hardly a small, insignificant fringe of society.

The slippery-slope argument that legalizing same-sex "marriage" will inevitably lead to officially legitimized polygamous unions presents a conundrum for homosexuals and lesbians: They cannot afford to appear hypocritical by opposing bisexual claims for equal rights in marriage laws, but if they endorse such rights they validate that the MPA is needed to prevent legally sanctioned polygamy. For gays and lesbians, the less talk about bisexual marriage "rights," the better.

But it's critical this issue be at the forefront in the debate to preserve traditional marriage between one man and one woman. Once society accepts the homosexuals' argument that any two consenting adults are entitled to the same marriage rights as heterosexuals, why not three or more consenting adults? Would disallowing such polygamous unions constitute discrimination against bisexuals?

Heretofore, advocates for homosexual marriage were content to view polygamy as a heterosexual aberration that had nothing to do with their same-sex twosomes. But having their very own arguments for same-gender marriage usurped by bisexual polygamists threatens to expose their ultimate goal of radically transforming American society to fit the homosexual view of sexuality, marriage and family.

According to the American Family Association Journal (February 2006), the homosexual agenda was best summed up by Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, who said:

"Being queer is more than setting up house, sleeping with a person of the same gender, and seeking state approval for doing so.... Being queer means pushing the parameters of sex, sexuality and family, and in the process, transforming the very fabric of society. ... We must keep our eye on the goal... of radically reordering society's views of reality."

Make no mistake what will happen if we fail to amend the Constitution to protect traditional marriage: Not only will polygamy likely be legalized, the deconstruction of the meaning of marriage and family will be complete. The "very fabric of society" and foundation of our culture is at stake.

Gary L. Jarmin is president of Christian Voice, a 300,000- member pro-family lobby founded in 1978.