Marriage Equality: Gender Inequality Elsewhere No Reason to Deny Here

The right to marry or to personal consortium should not be abridged or denied in on account of...

...sex, gender, sexual orientation,
(gay marriage, same-sex marriage)

...ancestry,
(interracial marriage, exogamous marriage)

...consanguinity,
(incestuous marriage, consanguineous marriage, consanguinamorous marriage, hyperendogamous marriage)

...or number of participants.
(polygamous marriage, plural marriage, polygynous marriage, polyandrous marriage, group marriage, triad marriage, dyadic network marriage, polyamorous marriage, open marriage)

One of the most widely used "arguments" against the polygamous freedom to marry it this...

“It oppresses women.”

Gender equality and the right to be unmarried or to divorce are necessary components of full marriage equality. Anti-equality people often point to polygyny in certain cultures, past and present, where women do not have equal rights. However, this is not proof that polygyny, much less the larger scope of polygyny, oppresses women. Women would be oppressed in those cultures with or without polygyny. If a woman wants to marry a man who has other wives rather than another man who is unmarried man, and the other wives agree, why deny her that choice? If a woman wants to marry two men (polyandry), or a man and a woman, or two women, she should have that right, too. Some women enjoy polygamy, including polygyny, and they should have the right to consent to the marriage of their choosing.

As we celebrate the birthday of the US, let us be true to the principles of liberty, freedom to pursue happiness, and equality.

This was adapted from my page on Discredited Arguments against marriage equality.