As Leno said in an interview with The Sacramento Bee, the legislation is a necessity to вЂњbring California to the 21st century by recognizing that there are more than Ozzie and Harriet families today.вЂќ While it isnвЂ™t targeted specifically at poly parents, the bill would afford them benefits too. 1467, which passed in the state senate last month and is awaiting approval in the state assembly - was designed to accommodate the diversity of modern parenthood, including surrogates, adoptive parents, same-sex parents and more. In California, where progressive San Francisco state senator Mark Leno has proposed legislation that would allow more than two adults to be recognized as the legal parents of a child. To offer some perspective, Newsweek reported in 2009, as a lowball estimate, that there are half a million polyamorous families in the United States.ДЇamilies like these cannot be ignored. вЂњWe donвЂ™t have any legal traditions to take care of this kind of thing, so it can be very difficult,вЂќ she said. Easton, whose daughter was co-parented within a poly community, admits that while it was a blessing to have such a wide network of adults to look after her daughter, issues of custody can cause pains in poly parenting. Raising children is another complication. How, for example, does a person with multiple lovers choose who gets the tax break for being in a longterm relationship? The mono-normative mindset toward relationships creates obstacles for some polys. Still, the changes have focused on incorporating homosexuals into a preexisting system - one that polys simply donвЂ™t fit into. Livermont nods to the fact that weвЂ™ve witnessed strides for the gay community, like the repeal of DonвЂ™t Ask DonвЂ™t Tell and the legalization of gay marriage in eight states. вЂњWe should find a form of marriage - or lack thereof, as a thought - that works for everyone.вЂќ

вЂњ are not only at odds with the heterosexual and monogamous community, but also with an LGBT community that is quickly giving up some of its core beliefs of inclusion and acceptance in exchange for quick payoffs like marriage equality,вЂќ Livermont said. Still, the multiplicity of love that springs from polyamory is often met with resistance - both legal and social - which leaves polyamorous people out of mind when it comes to making social progress. He described the arrangement as the most вЂњopen and honest relationshipвЂќ that he has ever been in. Rising Wharton junior Derek Livermont was in a polyamorous relationship last summer, after he and his partner decided to branch out and date other people. Those who practice poly range from the lovestruck triad in Oliver StoneвЂ™s recent film вЂњSavagesвЂќ to full-on group marriage within an entire community of people. вЂњInfinite possibilitiesвЂќ describes polyamory at its core.

More recently, people have used it synonymously with phrases like вЂњopen relationships,вЂќ which are sometimes strictly about sex.ДЄs Dossie Easton describes it, вЂњPoly has come to mean any form of relationship with multiple partners.вЂќ Easton is the co-author of what is often regarded as вЂњthe poly Bible,вЂќ The Ethical Slut: A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities.

The definition of polyamory is somewhat contested: In one camp, people honor its academic roots in the gender and sexuality community as a term for wholly transparent and simultaneous romantic relationships.

Arielle pardes