# A legal question about gay marriage: does it make polygamy legal?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-legal-question-about-gay-marriage-does-it-make-polygamy-legal/538209>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 3, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-legal-question-about-gay-marriage-does-it-make-polygamy-legal/538209 "2010-05-03T21:24:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\
**Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-legal-question-about-gay-marriage-does-it-make-polygamy-legal/538209/21 "2010-05-04T12:11:03Z")

</div>

> [@Rumor\_Watkins](#):
>
> who in their right mind would even bother doing this?

Someone trying to pull an insurance scam?  
Sampiro goes to Vermont and marries Abe, lives with him there a while, and then returns to his original home of Alabama to . . . I don’t know, care for a sick relative. As same-sex marriage is legal in Vermont, Sampiro is covered under Abe’s workplace medical benefits. Sampiro then marries Betty, some old lady he’s convinced will leave him all her money when she goes, which could be any minute now. Provided Abe’s insurance company doesn’t find out Sampiro has two spouses, he could hit the jackpot, return to Vermont and split it with Abe. Or not.  
I watch too many movies.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\
**Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-legal-question-about-gay-marriage-does-it-make-polygamy-legal/538209/22 "2010-05-04T13:00:28Z")

</div>

Does then old lady’s life insurance pay double if she falls off the back of a train?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\
**Post date:** [May 4, 2010, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-legal-question-about-gay-marriage-does-it-make-polygamy-legal/538209/23 "2010-05-04T13:09:17Z")

</div>

> [@Chronos](#):
>
> Legally, you’d be married to Abe in both states, under the Full Faith and Credit clause of the Constitution. Unfortunately, a lot of states have decided not to recognize the relevant law.

This is GQ.

In _Pacific Employers Ins. Co. v. Industrial Accident Commission_, 306 U.S. 493 (1939) the Supreme Court says:

> [@](#):
>
> …we think the conclusion is unavoidable that the full faith and credit clause does not require one state to substitute for its own statute, applicable to persons and events within it, the conflicting statute of another state, even though that statute is of controlling force in the courts of the state of its enactment with respect to the same persons and events.

It’s not clear what court case(s) you are relying upon in your blanket assertion that the Full faith and Credit clause compels recognition of the marriage to Abe in both states. _Pacific Employers_ and its progeny lay out the “public policy exception” to the FF&C clause.

Please provide a citation to the authority your answer relies upon.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-legal-question-about-gay-marriage-does-it-make-polygamy-legal/538209.md?page=1)