New Republican sexual politics? (image: Ingres, The Turkish Bath)
From Polygamy and politics mix in 3rd District debate by Robert Gehrke Salt Lake Tribune 04/12/08:
Rep. Chris Cannon said the government should not be going after polygamists solely because they practice plural marriage, relying on a controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling that protects homosexual relationships. ...Those Republicans and their alterative sexual ideas!
Cannon said he is offended by polygamous sects that force members to remain part of the group, but there are "lots of women who choose to be in polygamous relationships and who are very articulate about the benefits they get."
"I don't think it's the place of society to prosecute people who choose to cohabitate responsibly and are responsible for their children as opposed to men who are licentious or women who are licentious who are producing children that don't have place or context or male authority in their lives," Cannon said. ...
The candidates' comments, coming in the aftermath of the raid on the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints temple in Eldorado, Texas, wades into an issue that has been politically thorny since Utah's statehood.
"It's a sensitive topic because it's so complex. You can come at it from so many different perspectives," said Kelly Patterson, a political scientist at Brigham Young University. "Complexity in politics is often difficult because campaigns are not fought on complexity and subtleties."
Tags: polygamy
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