If I'm wrong someone tell me why those who want more than one marriage partner at the same time...or those who want to marry a close family member couldn't use the same arguements to endorse these marriages?
Yeru, in many Middle Eastern and African cultures, polygamy is an accepted legally recognized practice. That having been said, part of the reason why polygamy is not being considered in current marriage statutes is because of the far-reaching legal ramifications such unions would create. two prime examples of this would be tax and immigration laws. If polygamy were to become legalized, an entirely new set of tax laws would have to be written. Multiple-partner relationships would, under current tax laws, get a much larger deduction than monogomous couples, gay or straight. As regards immigration, the legalization of polygamy could create a new cottage industry of bringing multiple partners into this country for the sole purpose of immigration. The laws surrounding polygamy would be complex, unlike gay marriage, which is simply allowing a single partner who happens to be of the same sex to marry.
As regards marriage to close family members, there is too much incontrivertible scientific evidence to show that such unions can be genetically dangerous to potential offspring. No such danger exists in a mating between a union of two people of the same gender.
Will legal acceptance of gay marriage open the door to proponents of polygamous or incestual unions? Perhaps, but in the final analysis, the issues and legal ramifications are very different. Proponents of polygamy or incest would have a hard time piggybacking their arguments on the gay marriage issue.
