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It includes multiple husbands as well.

As an illustration of how many nested levels of hypocrisy there are... Mormons (the only measurable polygamist subculture in the U.S.) would not agree with that statement, and would shun any marriage involving more than one man. So, the counterexample used by mental giants like Bill Bennett and our own Billy is, in fact, demonstrative of the underlying problem -- intolerance of marriages which don't conform to your preconceived notions of what a marriage should be.

That said, I do believe polygamy (specifically polygyny, but go ahead and throw polyandry and group marriage in there if you like) is one concept of marriage that ought not to be sanctioned by the state, and I'm pretty strongly in the anti-polygamy camp.

Does this make me a hypocrite? No. Because, despite my belief that polygamy is not a marriage states ought to endorse, I also would be very much opposed to a CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT that prohibits states from making this decision for themselves (and to think, the Republicans used to be the States' rights party.) Utah's state constitution specifically prohibits polygamy, but we all know they're very soft on enforcement in predominantly Mormon areas. Were Utah to suddenly change this position and openly sanction polygamy, I would be fine with that. Were any other state (even my own) to decide that any combination of men and women could legally form a "marriage" that would not bother me in the least. Because, while I personally find these marriages distasteful and bad for society, I think those decisions are best made in state capitals and not Capitol Hill.

Really though, the gay marriage issue is over. While the polls suggest a slim majority of the country is against same sex marriages, they also show that a very large majority are against the federal government making this decision.

Furthermore, I would say that the reign of "social conservatives" in America is nearing its end as well. At some point, social conservatives are going to have to understand that the only reason they've had this country by the balls for 6+ years is because of the fragile union they formed with "paleoconservatives" (the small government, low taxes, Reaganomics types) and the "neoconservatives" (the bomb Iraq, bomb Iran, pump lots of cheap oil types) during the Clinton years. Tthat fragile union is already disintegrating, and without the other factions of the party, social conservatives are going to suddenly realize that the "God, Gays, and Guns" platform was just a Karl Rove bait-and-switch, and that hatred and intolerance have no place in the Constitution of the United States of America.
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- Tony C
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