Polyamory

Stuff reports:

A group is calling for the Government to consider legalising multi-partner marriages.

The group set up a Facebook page just before the Marriage Amendment Bill passed through Parliament last week, legalising gay marriage.

A statement on the page described multi-partner – or polyamorous – marriage as “responsible, adult, committed non-monogamy,” and said all committed loving relationships between adults regardless of number should be respected and given legal acknowledgement.

“Some Australian Greens have now got a lobby group going, there are several MPs around the world coming out as poly and poly-friendly and it seems the time is right to at least bring it to the attention of the New Zealand public and New Zealand parliament,” the group said.

“This will be a long-term project but with the rest of the world getting on the bandwagon legal multiple partner marriages/unions may one day be accepted.”

It’s an anonymous Facebook group. I’ll take this debate seriously when there are actual New Zealanders living in polyamorous relationships who are willing to step forward and say they want to be able to have multiple husbands or wives.

Most people have gay friends or acquaintances. I know probably a few thousand people and don’t know any of them who are in a polyamorous relationship. There was some Auckland celebrity who was in one a few years ago, but I can’t recall who they were.

Is this a debate that we may have one day? Possibly.

As it happens polyamorous marriages are already recognised in New Zealand law, if they were married in a country which allows them and now live here. I wonder if Stats NZ or DIA has any data on how many of these there are?