An interesting op-ed piece on the apparent hypocricy in Hefner’s 3 "Wives" OK for TV, but Judge’s 3 "Wives" Costs Job:

As Hugh Hefner’s three young cohabiting women appear on the cover of Playboy magazine and on a new TV reality show on E!, a small-town Utah Judge could lose his 25-year job for cohabiting with three women for decades. In November, 2005, on newsstands around the globe, Playboy magazine’s November cover displays Hugh Hefner’s three live-in women. This is in co-ordination with the new reality TV show on E!, called, "Girls Next Door," airing Sunday nights at 10:00 PM EST. At the same time, a small town part-time judge in Utah, named Walter Steed, is fighting to keep his job before the Utah State Supreme Court. Although convicted of no crime, a Utah state commission had recommended that he be removed from the bench for violating bigamy laws. Although legally married to only one since 1965, Steed was – in total – cohabiting with three live-in women. The juxtaposition of these two events vividly exposes the hypocrisy and tyranny of anti-polygamy laws.

A more thoughtful analysis and discussion at the original article (linked above).

Of course, the parallel is only partially correct. Hefner and a judge are not held to the same moral guidepost . . . albeit they should be held to the same legal one. Technically, the judge has not violated the law and cohabitating is not against the law nor is having girlfriends even if one is married. However, more polygamy cases are being approached via the cohabitation gambit as most so-called polygamists in the United States are not "legally" married to their additional spouses. Since it is illegal and therefore next to impossible to marry an additional wife, they don’t rock the boat by even trying for legal recognition of their unions. The government now considers living together enough evidence of practicing polygamy. This is too bad in that the law is being over liberally interpreted in terms of prosecution but no such leeway is given for punishment.

Cohabitation is not marriage, at least not a legal marriage and the government should not be over regulating the private lives of folks. Personally, if folks are of the age of majority and consensually wish to enter into a plural marriage, a monogamous one, or anything in between or otherwise, then I believe they should have that right. However, if the government is going to mandate certain types of marriage practice, then all behaviors outside that practice should be counted as off bounds . . . come on, people having affairs should be prosecuted as well under the same sort of idiotic over liberal interpretation. No, I don’t mean that. It would be silly. Just as laws that over regulate the private lives of citizens when those private practices or lifestyles are consensual and do not pose any threat to public health, safety, or even general moral practice.

In my opinion . . . Hefner and the judge should be allowed to do whatever they wish to do in private with whomever consensually wishes to be with them. And hurt none, that should be the whole of the law . . . do what thou will and let others do what they will.