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Polygamy
Polygamy – the act of more than two people entering into a marriage – has long been practiced throughout human history, and today is almost universally frowned upon in the Western world.
All 50 U.S. states, and most Western countries, have made polygamy illegal. The act of marrying one person while legally married to another (bigamy) is a criminal offense in every state, and is subject to fairly harsh punishments. In California, the punishment is a fine of up to $10,000 and/or up to 1 year in prison. In Utah, the punishment is up to 5 years in prison. In New York, it can be punished by 4 years in prison. In Illinois, the punishment is up to one year. Most other states appear to have sentences in the 1 to 5 year range, on top of hefty fines.
In 1878, the United States Supreme Court found laws prohibiting polygamy to be constitutional, and this decision still stands.
Many American jurisdictions also prohibit living a “polygamous lifestyle” that is, living with multiple sexual partners without being legally married. These laws are rarely enforced, however, as long as everyone involved is a consenting adult.
No mainstream religious organization, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, endorses polygamy. However, some fundamentalist splinter groups who live in small, isolated communities continue to practice it. Many of them simply go through the religious rites of marriage without seeking legal recognition for their unions, to avoid prosecution for bigamy. In most of these situations, the government intervenes to investigate reports of sexual abuse of minors, rather than to enforce anti-polygamy laws.
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