Polygamy or Multiple Partner Marriage (Corrected)

The Wall Street Journal had an editorial on Friday by Naomi Schaeffer Riley entitled Harem Scare 'Em Worried about Polygamy in which the author discusses the apparent spread of the practice around the world, including in parts of this country, though it has been illegal since 1862. I was intrigued, not because I support the practice nor do I want to see it spread necessarily, but because she couched all discussion of the practice in terms on one man and multiple women.

Couldn't the alternative work just as well? Or why not multiples of both genders?

There was a rampant movement to extend marriage laws to cover couples of a single gender. Efforts that failed generally. If current marriage laws are expanded beyond their traditional Judeo-Christian formulation, then the door is open for any configuration and a real rethinking of what marriage means in legal and civil terms.

As a Christian I will continue to hold to my traditional values that date back thousands of years, but for others, the future may hold something very different.