Bigamy is the act of marrying one person while being legally married to another. Polygamy is the practice or custom (often religious) of having more than one wife or husband at a time. Most states prohibit a party from having more than one marriage license at a time, and in most states bigamy is a crime.
In Kentucky, both bigamy and polygamy are prohibited by law. Under Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) 530.010, bigamy is defined as the offense of marrying someone while already being lawfully married to another person. This statute makes bigamy a Class D felony, which is punishable by one to five years in prison. Kentucky does not recognize polygamous marriages, and individuals cannot legally obtain more than one marriage license at a time. The state's marriage laws require that individuals be legally free to marry, which means not being currently married to another person, in order to enter into a valid marriage. Therefore, any subsequent marriage entered into while a person is already married would be considered invalid and potentially subject to criminal prosecution under the bigamy laws.