liz3564 wrote:Did it mention what this guy does for a living? Are the wives all working? Is the government supporting this lifestyle? If they're collecting welfare, food stamps, etc., that's what bothers me.
I don't think that my tax dollars should be paying for someone's lifestyle choice. If this guy "plays", he better pay.
I don't mind contributing to the welfare system for single Moms who are trying to do something with their lives and have been through a rough time, but that's not what's going on here.
If I remember right, almost the entire town of Colorado City is on welfare, complete with medical benefits and food stamps. They are all on the dole. So yes, your tax dollars support this lifestyle.
barrelomonkeys wrote:I sort of felt sorry for the children as they apparently do not get to spend much time with their father.
What concerns me about polygamy and the current laws dealing with marriage is this; if the non-legal wives were to decide to leave they would have a great deal of difficulty petitioning a court for any equity or other property that they might have shared with the other spouses. Hopefully that isn't something that happens often, although if and when it does I could see that it would leave the woman at a great disadvantage in terms of moving on with her life.
Even though the women aren't legally married to the guy, they could still sue for child support, though. As long as the man is determined to be the father, his wages could be garnished for child support.
Now, the other properties involved would be stickier because there is no legal marriage.
Right the women could go for child support and yet have no other redress for any other "joint" property. I just think that the women that are not legal wives are at a distinct disadvantage (as well as their children) if they ever decided to leave the "husband". This also, it appears to me, would create a distinct hierarchy in the home where the non-legal wives are more dependent upon the man and staying in the relationship.
Gary and his wives share a large home in the Salt Lake Valley's southwest corner.
Gary is the main breadwinner. Vicki and Valerie both work part time; Vicki is able to work from home. Kaye looks after the younger children when the other mothers are working.