Given recent reformulations of what constitutes an acceptable marriage relationship, polygamy is probably the next dominant Western family-law battleground. Recent cultural trends leading towards the legalization of polygamy (which are quite different from those that led to gay marriage) are rendering traditional arguments against polygamy to be less persuasive than they once were. Fundamental questions are before us regarding the role of law in protecting the innocent but limiting personal freedom and even standing in the way of potentially salubrious outcomes.

George R. Compton