Polygamous marriage should be legal

Thanks to Pro for his response. It's been an enjoyable debate thus far. Pro seems to contradict himself by stating that a partner seeking out fulfillment elsewhere leads to jealousy, and yet legalizing polygamy should eliminate it. There is no clear reason outlined defining why that would be different should polygamy be legalized. As marriage isn't about one spouse 'feel[ing] like they own another person entirely', the problem of jealousy would still exist. Another problem with Pro's argument is that it assumes the divorce rates are a result of the institution of monogamy itself, as opposed to other, more likely, factors. Infidelity in a marriage is a sign that there is something wrong with the marriage. One psychologist says that the majority of her encounters with clients having affairs is due to an 'inner-emptiness', derived from 'self-abandonment'. If that is the case, seeking fulfillment externally will not benefit the situation. (http://www.huffingtonpost.com...) Another study conducted reveals that in 92% of cases, men weren't unfaithful primarily due to sex. The study suggested the reason for infidelity was 'emotional disconnection, specifically a sense of feeling under appreciated.' (http://edition.cnn.com...) If the problem exists within the relationship itself, it makes sense to fix it within the relationship, not to look for short-term fix outside the relationship that ultimately will bring its own host of problems. One reason children may be confused in a family practicing polygamy is lack of consistent guidance. Even given the scenario that the adults decide who has primary responsibility over which children, polygamous households create an environment where a child does not need to listen to some of the adults some of the time. This lack of consistency can cause much confusion during a child's development. C1: The scenario I gave would apply just as well to a polyandrous/polygynous marriage as it would a polyamorous marriage. A woman who found she was unsatisfied with one of her husband's other partners would be unable to institute a divorce between them. In fact, the woman's options would be limited to either accepting all partners involved, or divorcing her husband. Due to the larger numbers of people, the possibilities for numerous scenarios of asymmetrical responsibility/power are almost endless. Whenever there are more than two people in a marriage, the imbalance created will be much greater than if there were only two. C2: The institute of polygamy intrinsically favors a male-dominant society. We can take a look at polygamy already existing in the US today. We'll find that it is practiced largely by religious groups, including Mormon fundamentalists and some Muslims. Both religious groups maintain that women may not marry multiple husbands, while men may marry multiple wives. This is an example of how, even in America, polygamy will ultimately favor a male-dominant society. (http://www.polygamy.com...) C3: Identifying that this problem exists elsewhere is not reason enough to negate the issue. C4: Though what my opponent has said is true, these studies were done comparing monogamous relationships to polygamous ones. The results show that polygamous marriages have higher levels of unhealthy relationships than do monogamous relationships. C5: Though such problems can be taken up in court, the wide range of variation polygamous marriages hold make it inevitable that there will be issues cropping up often, not just in divorce, but in the general distribution of rights in a marriage. This also doesn't answer the problem with taking advantage of polygamy in regards to immigration benefits. I only have a few characters left, so I will conclude here. Looking forward to Pro's response.