Orin Hatch's three great-grandmas
Nothing hurts the case for marriage as a milenia-honored tradition,
like having Senator Orin Hatch (R) of Utah speak of it as an historical constant dating back over 5,000 years, as he did in recent Senate debates over the Federal Marriage Amendment. Such statements belie the fact that he is the product of a rather untraditional marriage himself: His great-grandfather had three wives and thirty children:
"Those were days when they lived this principle because they believed it to be a spiritual principle, they believed it was important to bring as many children into the world as they could, among other things."
So much for "Traditional Marriage."
As Mormon's became a social force in the territory of Utah, their traditional marriages involving polygamy received more and more attention until, "In 1862 the United States Congress passed the Morrill Act, which prohibited plural marriage in the territories, disincorporated the Mormon Church, and restricted the church's ownership of property."
(Source: Utah History to Go / Polygamy)
Yet, Senator Orin Hatch's grandfather married two of his three wives after the Morrill Act was passed, in 1863 and 1865.
Then in 1879 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ruling that polygamy wasn't a protected religious belief, though it took the Church of Latter Day Saints another eleven years -- and under threat that Utah would not be allowed statehood if it supported polygamy -- to finally
renounce its' polygamous ways.
So when fundamentalist christians tout their own religious beliefs as justification for marriage as they see it -- saying "God said it, I believe it, and that settles it" -- they shouldn't be surprised that sometimes the U.S. Supreme court is the one to actually settle the dissonance between religion, and what's best for our country's citizens. Without such "activist judges," we would likely have had at least one state where women were treated so unequally that they were married in multiples to one man. And according to Senator Hatch, "When that came down, the Supreme Court case outlawing plural marriage, basically my faith did away with plural marriage, and I have to say no one would argue that it should ever come back."
Hopefully the day will soon come when discrimination against same-sex couples is itself outlawed, and people of all faiths will do away with treating Gay Americans unfairly, and no one will argue that it should ever be otherwise.
....
One reason Senator Hatch is even raising the topic of plural marriages, is out of anger over conservatives and fundamentalist christians incessantly pointing to polygamy as the next logical step if Gay Americans are allowed the right to marry. Why? Ask yourself what state would Americans think most likely to go the way of polygamy, if it saw any opportunity at all. Hatch says he's "been offended by some people indicating there might be some argument for
it."
....
According to some reports, Utah has as many as 60,000 practicing polygamists, and laws against it are rarely enforced.
like having Senator Orin Hatch (R) of Utah speak of it as an historical constant dating back over 5,000 years, as he did in recent Senate debates over the Federal Marriage Amendment. Such statements belie the fact that he is the product of a rather untraditional marriage himself: His great-grandfather had three wives and thirty children:
"Those were days when they lived this principle because they believed it to be a spiritual principle, they believed it was important to bring as many children into the world as they could, among other things."
So much for "Traditional Marriage."
As Mormon's became a social force in the territory of Utah, their traditional marriages involving polygamy received more and more attention until, "In 1862 the United States Congress passed the Morrill Act, which prohibited plural marriage in the territories, disincorporated the Mormon Church, and restricted the church's ownership of property."
(Source: Utah History to Go / Polygamy)
Yet, Senator Orin Hatch's grandfather married two of his three wives after the Morrill Act was passed, in 1863 and 1865.
Then in 1879 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ruling that polygamy wasn't a protected religious belief, though it took the Church of Latter Day Saints another eleven years -- and under threat that Utah would not be allowed statehood if it supported polygamy -- to finally
renounce its' polygamous ways.
So when fundamentalist christians tout their own religious beliefs as justification for marriage as they see it -- saying "God said it, I believe it, and that settles it" -- they shouldn't be surprised that sometimes the U.S. Supreme court is the one to actually settle the dissonance between religion, and what's best for our country's citizens. Without such "activist judges," we would likely have had at least one state where women were treated so unequally that they were married in multiples to one man. And according to Senator Hatch, "When that came down, the Supreme Court case outlawing plural marriage, basically my faith did away with plural marriage, and I have to say no one would argue that it should ever come back."
Hopefully the day will soon come when discrimination against same-sex couples is itself outlawed, and people of all faiths will do away with treating Gay Americans unfairly, and no one will argue that it should ever be otherwise.
....
One reason Senator Hatch is even raising the topic of plural marriages, is out of anger over conservatives and fundamentalist christians incessantly pointing to polygamy as the next logical step if Gay Americans are allowed the right to marry. Why? Ask yourself what state would Americans think most likely to go the way of polygamy, if it saw any opportunity at all. Hatch says he's "been offended by some people indicating there might be some argument for
it."
....
According to some reports, Utah has as many as 60,000 practicing polygamists, and laws against it are rarely enforced.
posted by Shane at 10:53 AM
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