POLYAMORY IN THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

Unitarians from Boston to Berkeley have opened another front in the liberal crusade to expand the definition of marriage and family in America.

It's the new polygamy, and according to the Unitarian Universalists for Polyamory Awareness, their relationships are at least as ethical as other marriages -- gay or straight.

"Polyamory is never having to say you've broken up," said Sally Amsbury of Oakland, whose sex and love life openly includes her husband and two "other significant others," known in polyamory parlance as "OSOs."

Amsbury serves on the national board of directors of the Unitarian Universalist organization, which defines polyamory as "the philosophy and practice of loving or relating intimately to more than one other person at a time with honesty and integrity."

"Polyamory is not an alternative to monogamy. It's an alternative to cheating," said Jasmine Walston, who lives in Louisville, Ky., and is president of the Unitarian Universalists for Polyamory Awareness.

"For some of us, monogamy doesn't work, and cheating was just abhorrent to me," she said. ...

John Hurley, a Boston spokesman for the 183,000-member Association of Unitarian Universalists, says the views of polyamorists are not necessarily endorsed by the denomination's board of trustees.

Polyamorists themselves are divided over whether to push for more formal recognition from the Unitarians, or to begin public lobbying for some of the same rights granted to heterosexual couples. "We're where the gay rights movement was 30 years ago," Walston said.

Amsbury says she favors expanding the legal definition of marriage to include three or more people, but she doesn't expect to see it anytime soon. ...

Other polyamorists are concerned that their cause will be used by opponents of same-sex marriage.

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posted by Eve at 3:37 PM VOTE

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