Dear Editor,
I am writing today not as a lawyer, politician, or expert, but as a regular citizen who is tired of seeing old laws controlling people’s private lives while pretending to protect “morality.” The recent bigamy charge that has everyone talking has only confirmed something many of us already knew: Antigua and Barbuda’s bigamy law is outdated, unfair, and no longer reflects the real lives people are living in this country.
Let me say plainly what many are afraid to say out loud—our bigamy law needs to be abolished. Not amended. Not softened. Abolished.
This law was written in a completely different era, long before social media, long before “relationship choices” became an actual conversation, and definitely long before grown adults could freely say what works for their lives. Yet here we are in 2025, still dragging people before the courts because the law cannot tell the difference between abuse and adult choice.
The state should not be deciding how many consenting adults someone can love.
We are always preaching “live and let live,” “mind your business,” “freedom of choice”—but the moment people actually live by those values, the law is waiting to punish them. That is hypocrisy, and it is time for it to end.
The recent interviews on the street show exactly what we have known for years: Antiguans are not all on the same page about marriage, and that is perfectly fine. Some people want one partner. Some think it’s silly to criminalize someone’s relationship choices. Others say they could never share a spouse. Some feel it should depend on agreement. A few say their culture back home accepts multiple wives. And some say the law should stay.
But here’s the truth:
A free society does not need everyone to agree on someone else’s relationship. It only needs space for each person to make their own choice.
If a woman doesn’t want her husband to have another wife—that is HER boundary.
If a man wants only one wife—that is HIS boundary.
If three adults decide they want to build a household together—that is THEIR business.
What we should NOT be doing is dragging consenting adults into the criminal justice system, wasting police resources, and pretending we’re protecting society when the only thing we’re really doing is policing private relationships.
We already struggle in this country with domestic violence cases, missing children, robberies, land disputes, and financial crime. Yet we are comfortable using police time to investigate who married who?
That is not justice. That is a distraction.
And for those who argue “it’s the law of the land,” let me remind them:
Bad laws do not deserve respect.
They deserve reform—or abolition.
People love reminding us that “in other cultures” multiple wives are normal. Well, the Caribbean has always been a mix of cultures. We preach cultural pride all year long—until it conflicts with an old British law we never bothered to update.
Let’s be honest: our bigamy law is a leftover colonial statute built on one religious view of marriage, pushed onto us at a time when we had no say in our own governance.
We can’t be shouting “sovereign nation!” on one hand and blindly upholding colonial marriage laws on the other.
A modern society should not be criminalizing:
• consenting adults,
• private agreements,
• alternative family structures,
• choices that do not harm anyone.
If someone lies, manipulates, abuses, defrauds, or deceives—that is a different issue entirely.
But that can be handled with laws targeting fraud, not laws policing how many people stand under a gazebo at Fort James.
Marriage should not be a crime scene.
Antigua and Barbuda cannot call itself progressive while clinging to a law that punishes adults for living their private lives differently from the norm. We talk every election about “modernization,” “freedom,” “independence,” and “human dignity.” Well, here is a chance to prove we actually mean it.
Repeal the bigamy law.
Respect adult choice.
Let people build their homes as they see fit.
Let us finally step into a society where consenting adults are free to determine their own happiness—without fear of handcuffs for choosing love the “wrong” way.
Sincerely,
A Concerned and Tired Antiguan Citizen
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Get the hell out of here with your idiocy.
Stop trying to normalize lust!
Time to stand for RIGHTEOUSNESS that exalteth a nation.
“Righteousness exalts a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people. … Righteousness will exalt the people and sin diminishes a people.” ~Proverbs 14:34
“Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his WIFE [singular] , and the two will become one flesh.” ~Genesis 2:24
“Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.”~1 Corinthians 7: 2-5
“A concern citizen.” I agree with u. Are you asking us to rewrite our amendment book? This would take a lot of time. This would also cause disruption, meaning what happens when one person in the marriage wants a divorce? Who gets what or who gets the kids? This creates too many problems for our court system.
How can I like this 1 million times. These men just can’t be faithful to their partner, they just want to lust after another man wife or woman. We don’t want it here.
Spoken like a man with delusions of grandeur, entitlement and lust. There are other countries where that is the cultural norm, pick one and please migrate. Bare in mind, you must be financially stable or better, to be PERMITTED to have more than one family.
What you demand is not based in principle or human right, it is the sexual deviance of one, never satiated! The next thing you will demand, is the ability to marry a child!
Plain and simple… NUH
Typical Antiguan ………… A law should be abolished only when that particular issue is convenient to certain people….. Smh I can’t with you people….
I believe @tired and concerned Antiguan citizen is actually tired and confused!
From your opinion piece I have gleaned
1. You do not believe in the Bible and its laws
2. You are not married or if you were you stepped out of your vows.
3. You live like community property never settling while the years creep on and depreciate your vitality.
In essence, what you wrote only confirms how far down the rabbit hole we as a society has fallen.
Well said.
An obvious homosexual trying to score some points.. Not today! Not ever! Not in our beloved Antigua and Barbuda! Antigua belongs to Jesus!!!
Completely crap article!
Agree to disagree so first I should vote yes let people live the life they see fit but if the country has law even if it’s old we should respect it, so there are countries who accept this way (I don’t like the word BIGAMRY so I will say POLYGYNY !!! ) move to these countries and all problem is solve because I myself HATE those thing aka BOYs behaving like women whom they can NEVER be and this go for the girls as well it’s DISGUSTING !!!
@A Concerned and Tired Antiguan Citizen
“For God will bring every work into judgment, with every hidden thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
Nothing is wrong if a man get married to two wives or more if he can afford to take care of them and meet their needs. Whenever something comes up, everybody start to talk about Bible. Where is the Bible when other sinful act are being committed. Let me refresh you all retarded way of thinking. Countries in the world to include Antigua and Barbuda accepted the LGBT. isn’t that worst than Biggamy ? Fornication and Adultry are not worst than Biggamy ? In Biggamy you are married to more than one wife or some would say polygamy. Look at the Antigua and Barbuda population, very few are married therefore all the rest are fornicators. Even in the churches, magority of their congregation are single men and women and few are married. Nearly all the others are fornicating from the pastor down. Some of them have position in church and they are not married but they have a secret man or woman. First time in my life I heard of Digital sex and who did you think did that, A PASTOR. marriage is a good thing and if every man stick to one wife , many women would be stranded to get a husband since more females are being born than males. As it was in the begining, so shall it be in the end. King Solomon had more than one wife, when did it change. Many great men of God in time pass had more than one wife and God loved them. BIGGAMY should be abolish (2) magistrates making orders in court for child support without first having a DNA test result in Court during the hearing, should be abolish. No man should be force to support a child through the court whether he accept or not without haveing a DNA result before sentencing. (3) The law in sentencing youths to three years in prison for murder should be abolish. Charge them as Adults.
“King Solomon had more than one wife…”
That does NOT mean it was right. In fact, if you read the book of Ecclesiastes written by him in his latter years, he expressed REGRET and REMORSE for his actions. Let this serve as a warning to you and me and others.
HELLS TO THE NO!!!!!! If u are Married and u wanna have another wife u must first divorce ur first wife…..Simple………No one says u cant separate and yes u can move on and find multiple partners if you want no one can stop you…If u wanna get married again ohh lord just divorce the first one jack…….You can get married to a woman who does not mind you have other women and yes they are out there….
Your first sentence was on point, but then the rest of your paragraph contradicted it. Marriage is a SERIOUS C-O-V-E-N-A-N-T recognized in the spiritual realm. You remain married TIL DEATH. IF you divorce and remarry while your “ex-spouse” is till alive, you are GUILTY OF ADULTERY in the eyes of God!!!
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“But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.” {Matthew 5:32}
“So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.”{Romans 7:3}
“And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.”{1 Corinthians 7:10-11}
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All I have to say is if it was an arrangement accepted by all three parties, why wasn’t the first wife present at the wedding of the second wife?
Let me take it a bit further, can a wife once married, whilst in that marriage, marry a second husband?
You make a critical error by thinking that human beings can “do as you like”. My dear Joan, there is a JUDGMENT DAY that we all have to face. Keep that in mind “Joan”
HELL TO THE FLIPPING NO…. A who write dis crap? Appalled much. That’s why the flipping world going trait a “hell inna han’ baskit”. Tired a y’all shiznit when y’all want your own way. Move some way else.
Concerned and Tired Antiguan Citizen, that was pure diatribe. Please go back under the corrupt Rock from which you crawled