Lori Beaman Makes Good Points

Lori Beaman testified in the Canadian poly trial, making some very important points.

While she noted that there have been several autobiographical accounts of former members of fundamentalist Mormon communities, Beaman says in her affidavit that assessing harm from that would be akin to extrapolating harms of monogamy by taking the accounts of people who have had abusive marriages.

Precisely! Do a search. The World Wide Web is full of horror stories from women and men describing the nightmare of their (some supposedly, some actually, some clearly not) monogamous marriages, with many of these people swearing off marriage entirely. It would be very easy to demonstrate that monogamous marriage is harmful. Monogamy is not for everyone. Polyamory and Polygamy is not for everyone. Marriage is not for everyone. Let people decided for themselves.

Among the problems she cites in assessing harm is that much of the research has been done in “social, political, religious, economic, legal and cultural contexts distinct from those of North America.”

Another important point. Gender equality is an important condition for full marriage equality, as is the right of refusal to a marriage proposal and the right to divorce.

Beaman, who also has a law degree, suggests that rather than stereotyping, society ought to assume that all members of minority religious groups “choose to be or remain involved in religious groups.”

Are some people more easily manipulated than others? Yes. Are some people better at manipulating than others? Yes. We see that everywhere. You can see it on your local school playground. To paint a picture of manipulation in a community and claim that you have reason to deny all poly people the freedom to marry is a leap too far. Some kids get bullied on that school playground. Some kids attract multiple friends or suck-ups. It doesn’t mean kids should only be allowed to play in pairs.