Examining The Hypocrisy Of Polygamy Laws Article Review Sample

In his article, Polygamy Laws Expose Our Own Hypocrisy, Jonathan Turley juxtaposes the contradictions within existing laws to make a strong case for decriminalizing polygamy. He points out that under the laws of the United States, individuals have the right to be involved in any type of consensual sex, with any number of partners. Men are charged with polygamy only if they legally marry more than one spouse. On the other hand, the Constitution also protects individuals’ rights to freedom of religion. He points out that religion is the main difference between a polygamist and someone who has multiple, concurrent sex partners. Hence, polygamists are being denied their religious rights. He strengthens this argument by reaching into Biblical history to show that polygamy was an accepted practice, and uses the prophets Abraham, David, Jacob, Solomon and Mohammed as examples. Judeo-Christian-Muslim heritage has enduring polygamous roots, so the argument used by the Supreme Court in 1878, that polygamy is contrary to Western civilization, is refuted.
Mention of the fact that he himself detests polygamy is a clever persuasive technique. It indicates that he has no personal stake in the establishment of polygamy as a legal institution and it encourages readers to be objective in their analysis of the issue. He offers the choice of living a monogamous lifestyle and raising one’s own children to value it, while at the same time respecting the rights of individuals who choose to be polygamous and to raise their children in a polygamous culture. Who can argue against such even-handedness?
Using the example of Britney Speers, and her rapid succession of marriages and divorces, was the weakest part of Turley’s article. The lifestyle of one celebrity cannot be taken as an illustration of anything approaching mainstream Western family life. In fact, it could be used as an argument in favour of condemning polygamy as a threat to the ideal of a monogamous, Western family. The writer may have been trying to show with this example that polygamy can provide more stability to family life, but he did not develop this idea sufficiently.