Polygamy In Canada

More individuals will argue that, "If we are truly champions of diversity, it's time to embrace polygamy." Steve Deace notes in his article that those arguing against marriage equality are just as guilty of discrimination as those still carrying guns around freely (2013). He also says that society's views on relationships are always changing so our mindset should change as well. Another argument that Deace states in his article is that if government is going to allow gays to get married, a polygamist should be allowed to marry multiple spouses of any gender

Enrolling in a class formulated around families and their dynamics within Canadian society, initially seemed as though it would be quite monotone. The prior knowledge I held, led myself to believe there was not much more one could learn about such an area; families are diverse and all strive off of one another to survive in their home and surrounding environments. Throughout this short term my thoughts have altered in understanding the complexity and diversity within families. Every individual is part of a family yet, whom one considers “family” can arise from many areas: full sibling, step sibling, adopted, close friend, foster child amongst other areas which many will speak to under their own terms. Every family has faced challenges

The courts found that If section 251 of the Criminal Code of Canada infringes or denies the rights and freedoms guaranteed by ss. 2(a), 7, 12, 15, 27 and 28 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, is s. 251 justified by s. 1 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and therefore not inconsistent with the Constitution Act, 1982?

Most would equate their struggle and first for equality to gay marriage. This is mostly due to so much acceptance of those individuals that do not fit the mold of the typical monogamous man and women marriage. We are far from a city that is accepting of this union or are we? Recently families who practice polygamy have been in the public increasingly. Modern day television series such as the Sister Wives follows a family in a polygamous union who documents their day to day life and the struggle that we mentioned in the previous paragraph. This family lives their life in peace which reverts back to my stance on the issue in which the laws that currently exist around polygamy unions are good as they are. Reporter Amy Robek of the 20/20 news show reported on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder Day Saints Polygamy Compound in a documentary titled “Secrets of the Mormon Cult: Breaking Polygamy”. This documentary was filmed after the prosecution of the cult leader of the FLDS compound Warren Jeff’s. They got a rare inside look on what life is like within compounds, shedding light to outsiders the daily operations and schedules the sheltered people. What they discovered was these families are hold a lower standard of education, health care, and nutritional values. From

In “Mormon Masculinity Changing Gender Expectations in the Era of Transition from Polygamy to Monogamy, 1890–1920,” Amy Hoyt and Sara M. Patterson argue that during the era of transition from polygamy to monogamy, there was a perceived crisis in the lives of Mormon boys. These events together resulted in a change in the notion of masculinity in the LDS church. Their thesis was “..during the period from 1890 to 1920, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) perceived a crisis in the lives of their boys. That sense of crisis lay at the surface of an even deeper cultural upheaval taking place within Mormondom....With the transition from polygamy to monogamy, church members had to construct a new model for understanding marriage, family and sexuality...they were also forced to reconstruct their notions of masculinity (Hoyt and Patterson 72-73).”

ss. 2(1), 3, 4, 7(1), 8(1), 10 and 16(1) of the Individual’s Rights Protection Act, R.S.A. 1980, c. I 2, am., now Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Act, R.S.A. 1980, c. H 11.7, Vriend with some organizations argued that the IRPA violates s.15(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Supreme Court of Canada held that IRPA create distinction on the

The next argument the Plaintiff makes is about how damaging polygamy would be on our society, especially for women. The prosecutors refer to Reynolds v. United States (1878) and mention how other countries that allow Polygamy have a high rate of discrimination toward women. Therefore, the Plaintiff is arguing that allowing Polygamy would negatively affect the individual rights of women in the United States. The Plaintiff quotes Justice Waite’s opinion, “and from the earliest history of England Polygamy has been treated as an offense against society.” The Defendant, should not be allowed multiple wives, because it will lead to a more patriarchal society. The women in this civil contract would be limited due to the men of this religion having more control of

The state of Utah also relies heavily on Utah Const. art. III, § 1, in Utah’s Constitution stating “First: -- Perfect toleration of religious sentiment is guaranteed. No inhabitant of this State shall ever be molested in person or property on account of his or her mode of religious worship; but polygamous or plural marriages are forever prohibited”, and Utah’s anti-polygamy statute, Utah Code Ann. § 76-7-101(1)(2)(3) stating “(1) A person is guilty of bigamy when, knowing he has a husband or wife or knowing the other person has a husband or wife, the person purports to marry another person or cohabits with another person, (2) Bigamy is a felony of the third degree, and (3) It shall be a defense to bigamy that the accused reasonably believed he and the

Any prohibition against polygamous marriage today must likewise meet these stringent requirements of the FRFA, in addition to the earlier Sherbert and Yoder decisions. The compelling state interests that have been identified are (1) underage marriage, child abuse, and incest; (2) subjection of women; and (3) welfare fraud. Yet there are

However, Canada as a nation has long since understood to place limits on rights that she feels to be causing to society and to any vulnerable populations within her citizenry. Vulnerable populations such as women and children. Section 1 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the grounds for the Oakes Test, a provision for these limits. The Oakes Test is to see whether or not a law which infringes upon any rights that appear thereafter in the Charter can be seen as necessary according to the values of the public. According to the Supreme Court of Canada in its upholding of the polygamy laws, they view this ban as constitutional despite alleged infringements on religious freedoms. Polygamy as an institution is harmful to women and to children that are coerced into this sort of lifestyle, and also it hurts the larger society whose values and beliefs it violates (Bala,

In most cases of polygamy, the man has multiple wives. A man having multiple wives decreases the chance of other heterosexual males finding a female partner. This may result in something that is already occurring in China due to the imbalance of males to females. There are instances of women being kidnapped, trafficked, and raped because some men are not able to find a partner. If polygamy becomes a common occurrence in Canada, it is likely that this will be the outcome of it. However, an imbalance of the ratio of single males and females is not the only problem with polygamy. Using the Winston

One of the many reasons that polygamy should continue to be illegal is because of the children that have to suffer through the pain that their mothers may suffer as well. Children have to suffer through the abuse that their fathers put upon them and the education that they earn is extremely unhelpful to them. Children in addition to being abused also endure

Marriage is a social institution that is practiced globally. Traditionally marriages are known to occur between one man and one woman. However, cultural values and time have reshaped and birthed new types of marriages. Polygamy is a type of marriage that is often practiced around the world specifically in Asia, Middle East, and Africa. Polyamorous marriages have been in existence for centuries. Polygamy is classified into two categories, polygyny, and polyandry. Polygyny is the most popular type of polygamy, in this type of polygamous marriage, a man is married to multiple women. On the other hand, polyandry which is the least familiar type of polygamy is where a woman is married to multiple husbands. The intolerance of Mormons in the United States has led to the outlawing of polyamorous marriages. The Morrill Anti Bigamy law of 1862 outlawed the practice of polygamy in the United States. Like many other laws, this law can be overturned. In fact, it should be reversed because illegalizing polygamy is unethical. Polygamy should be legalized because it is unconstitutional for it to be illegal, same-sex marriages and interracial marriages are legal, therefore so should polyamorous marriages. In addition, legalizing polygamy would prevent immigrant families who practice polygamy from being separated and it would also strengthen the feminist movement.

A woman pushes as hard as she can for the last time. “It’s a baby girl!” the man announces, as the new mother hangs her head in sight of the hardships her baby, Elizabeth, will face. Miles away in a hospital, another woman gives birth to a healthy baby girl, Marley. As she sees her baby for the first time, she smiles knowing all the great adventures this baby will experience in her life. The polygamous mom takes the little girl home to her family, a family where she has more than one mother and many brothers and sisters. As she grows up she lives her life trying to be “proper” and “sweet” in the eyes of the prophet. Somewhere far away, Marley is outside playing with her mother and learning how to be a kid. At the age of fourteen, young girls like Marley are innocent and should be going on dates, having fun with friends, and living their life, but for a fourteen year old Elizabeth, she is married to a man twice her age to be his second wife. As she begins her life with her husband, she sees the jealousy of the first wife and the neglect she feels by her presence. Shortly after, the young girl is replaced by another new wife after having a child. Ever since the day she was born, she had no control over these stages happening. Her fate was determined from time of birth and is determined by men until the day she dies. Her fate will be ruled by the religion of Polygamy.

When people hear the term “plural marriage”, they raise an eye because it is often seen as something immoral and unacceptable in our society. What does it mean? “Plural marriage” is defined by Oxford Dictionary as “the practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time.” This has been the case of a household in the small town of Bountiful, British Columbia, where a man by the name of Winston Blackmore lived with his 24 wives who gave birth to a total of over 130 children. After decades of investigation and legal disputes, Blackmore was eventually proven guilty of practicing polygamy on the July of 2017 and is set to face up to five years in prison for the violation of section 293 of the Criminal Code: Unlawful Solemnization of Marriage. However, the question remains: is prohibiting plural marriage an unreasonable infringement of human rights? From my perspective, I disagree with this statement.