Publication Date

Winter 2019

Journal

Arizona State Law Journal

Abstract

For much of this nation's history, the vast majority of people have believed that being married to more than one person at the same time is deeply problematic. Further, polygamous marriage has never been legal in the United States. Despite this, some people have been in plural or group relationships and some of these people have wished to gain legal recognition for these relationships. The arguments for recognizing such relationships are persuasive, but the prospects for legalization of polygamous marriage seem slim in the near future. This Article offers a suggestion of how the law of domestic relations might deal with such relationships, focusing on same-sex “triads.” The proposal is that domestic partnership or civil union laws, which remain on the books in some jurisdictions, but are now rarely used, could be repurposed and adapted to recognize and protect triads and perhaps other group and plural relationships.

Volume

51

Issue

4

First Page

1395

Last Page

1420

Publisher

Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law

Keywords

Polygamy, Marriage and Couples, Domestic Relations, Fourteenth Amendment, Religion and the Law, Sexuality and the Law

Disciplines

Family Law | Fourteenth Amendment | Law | Law and Society | Sexuality and the Law

Download

Share

COinS