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“Polyamory in Somerville: A Haven for Consented Relationships and LGBTQ+ Integration”

“It’s a little corner of paradise for all the followers of consented polygamy”, describe The New York Times. Welcome to Somerville, an American town of some 80,000 people in Massachusetts.

In June 2020, Somerville became the first municipality in the United States to grant polyamorous individuals “cohabitation rights, such as the ability to receive social benefits through one’s spouse’s business and to visit him or her in hospital,” explains the New York newspaper.

In nearly four years, the city has passed several laws to limit discrimination against polyamorous households, which involve “Intimate or romantic relationships with several people, all consenting and aware of the situation”, says the American daily.

A “resolutely LGBTQI-friendly” municipality

“Hippie”, “Bohemia” et “resolutely LGBTQI-friendly”, the municipality has become a symbol of integration for queer people. At a time when more and more anti-LGBTQI laws are being passed in the United States, Somerville has the air of a haven of peace. A vision confirmed by Wil Hall, a 30-year-old computer engineer, quoted by The New York Times :

“The city is very small, and there are so many places open to everyone that you feel safe there.”

Somerville’s support for polyamorous people has inspired other cities to follow suit. “Arlington and Cambridge, two other towns in Massachusetts, have incorporated the issue of polyamorous relationships into their cohabitation regulations,” indicates the American title.

Ordinances may apply beyond Massachusetts. The only condition: people must register as domestic partners in one of these three cities in the state before returning home.

Despite these significant advances, the stereotypes surrounding the notion of polyamory seem to die hard, underlines The New York Times : “Some people don’t dare talk about it openly at work for fear of being fired or missing out on a promotion.”

2023-05-29 13:03:55


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