Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

I have recently found myself watching the TLC show Sister Wives and have actually been considering how one would go about legalizing polygamy. I live in Washington State and have found RCW 26.04.020 would need a couple of changes and RCW 9A.64.010 would have to be removed completely. Polygamy itself wouldn't violate the federal definition of marriage if each wife was a separate legal marriage (that is, one man would hold a separate marriage license for each of his wives), so all we'd have to do is allow another marriage license while a with another living spouse already.

I'm not asking for criticism, just how one would go about pushing a change to laws. I tried sending some of my legislators email and snail-mail, but never got any responses. Maybe I'll have better luck here.


Asked on 9/19/11, 5:06 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jonathan Baner Baner & Baner

Can always try to get it put on the ballot by an initiative. You will need a great number of signatures.

Personally, I think the idea of having multiple wives is the scariest notion ever devised, but I don't really think we're at the point of civilization where women need protection from this arrangement. Original polygamy laws were often defended on the basis that women needed protecting from the terrors of men. Modern times are probably more open to accepting different lifestyles, changing notions of fidelity, and, obviously, women have a great deal more power. Perhaps the best argument is one founded in libertarian philosophy: why should the government have the power to regulate the civil contract side of marriages?

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Answered on 9/24/11, 4:13 pm


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