Redefining Marriage and Family

The broadest definition of marriage can be stated as a socially sanctioned  and economic union between at least two individuals.

Marriage and family can mean many things to many people in different cultures. Even within the same culture, individuals may disagree about what constitutes an acceptable marriage or family. 

In the majority of the United States a marriage is defined as the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law (www.m-w.com). An American family was traditionally seen as what we call a nuclear family: a mother, father and their children. However that guideline has drastically changed in the last fifty years.  Many Americans now exist in one extended family or one or two single-parent families and/or blended families. 

We as a country should legally redefine marriage into broader terms. A legal marriage would be a union between two or more consenting human adults who do not have a parent/child or sibling relationship. This definition includes polygamy both polyandry and polygyny and monogamy.  Each  person in this country where independence and personal freedoms are so valued  it only makes sense to allow each individual to decide how many wives or husbands is appropriate for themselves. 

Definitions: Polygamy(Multiple Spouses at the same time)

Polygyny (multiple women married to a single male) 

Polyandry ( multiple men married to a single women)