Sister's Wives

Yes, I am openly admitting that I watch this show on TLC.  I began watching out of curiosity.  My only image of polygamists was of the ultra conservatives.  The long hair, old-timey dresses, marrying 13 year old girls to much older men, etc. But this show seem to show something else.

Cody is the husband.  He is in his late 30's, early 40's?  His first wife, and only legally wedded wife is Merrie.  Merrie was brought up in a family of polygamists, and always knew she wanted to have that same type family.  In fact, several years later, Merrie introduced Janelle to Cody and she became his 2nd wife.  All the women are close in age, all around Cody's age.  The Christina came along to make wife no. 3.  They have several children among the three women.  Christina stays at home and Janelle, Cody, and Merrie all work outside the home.  They own a home that has 3 separate apartments.  So each wife has their own kitchen and living area.  When the show begins airing, Cody has fallen in love for the fourth time.  He eventually marries Robin.  All of these women were 21 years of age when they chose to marry Cody.  They were well aware of the other wives, there were no tricks.  Each wife chose this lifestyle.  But, it is against the law in Utah, where it is probably more prominent.  A couple of the wives have memories of their families being split up because their fathers were arrested.  You might be asking why on earth would they go on National TV?   Well, they thought people had changed.  And as people may have changed, the law has not.  So the State Prosecutor has instigated an investigation into their case.

The whole time I watch this show, I think about how I feel about this.  It is not the lifestyle for me.  I think it is wrong no matter your religious beliefs to marry a minor child and have sex with them.  But, what about 2, 3, or 4 consenting adults?  What about this family who is paying their way, paying taxes, raising normal, healthy children?  They are practicing their religion.  They don't want to try to change other people.  They simply want religious freedom to live "family" they way they define it.

So, should government interfere in their personal lives, as long as they are all consenting adults?  Is having one daddy, and 3 mommies detrimental to the children?  All these thoughts are swirling in my head today as I watched the finale.

What are your thoughts?