EXT. SULPHUR RIDGE TOWN OFFICE – NORTHEASTERN TEXAS – MORNING

  The sun barely crests over the hills when the line begins to form. By 9 AM, it stretches around the old brick County Records Building, snaking past the post office, the diner, and the volunteer fire station. Pickups clog every dirt shoulder. Horses are tied to fence posts. Families in simple, prairie-style clothes wait patiently.

  Men stand at the front of each family cluster—stoic, purposeful. Some hold folders. Others simply hold hands. Behind them: women in head coverings and ankle-length skirts, most with children. Others, younger, csp forms against their chests, cheeks flushed. A few pregnant wives lean on their sister-wives for bance.

  INT. COUNTY RECORDS OFFICE – CONTINUOUS

  Inside, it’s chaos—Deputy Clerk MARLENE COTTON, mid-50s, flips through her rulebook while sweat beads on her brow. Two younger clerks, RYAN and LUCY, work the front counter, eyes wide with disbelief.

  RYAN

  (whispering to Lucy)

  They said a couple dozen families. This is... hundreds.

  LUCY

  Some of them got three, four women. I saw a man with four forms.

  Marlene sps down her rulebook and waves them forward.

  MARLENE

  Alright, hush now. If the state says we register three, then we register three. Get the ink pads ready and keep it calm.

  The double doors open, and in walks the first family: AMOS GENTRY, wearing his Sunday shirt and holding the hands of three women—SARAH, MIRIAM, and RACHEL—each of whom holds a birth certificate and a worn envelope. Behind them trail children—at least seven, all in neat line.

  AMOS

  Morning. I’d like to register my household under the new Plural Marriage Law.

  Marlene takes a breath. Nods.

  MARLENE

  You Amos Gentry?

  AMOS

  Yes, ma’am.

  MARLENE (motioning to the desk)

  Let’s start with the eldest wife.

  EXT. TOWN SQUARE – LATER

  More families arrive—some in Sunday best, others barefoot and dusty from the fields. Local bystanders gather at the gas station across the street. Mr. Talbot, the owner of the hardware store, lights a cigarette as he watches the procession.

  MR. TALBOT

  Didn’t think I’d see this day. Thought they were ghost towns out there.

  WOMAN PASSERBY

  They ain’t ghosts. They’ve been waitin’.

  INT. RECORDS OFFICE – WAITING AREA – LATER

  A dozen families sit in the waiting area, knees bouncing. Children nap in ps. Nervous whispers fill the air. A young man, JESSE LANE, mid-20s, sweats through his shirt. His three wives—Leah, Hope, and Dinah—whisper prayers in a corner.

  LEAH

  Do you think they’ll accept us?

  JESSE

  They will. Preacher said this is our moment.

  Just then, Deputy Clerk Lucy calls his name.

  LUCY

  Jesse Lane? Come on up.

  The room goes quiet as Jesse rises. His wives stand behind him, their fingers brushing his back for strength. He nods and walks to the counter.

  EXT. COUNTY RECORDS BUILDING – LATE AFTERNOON

  By now, local media vans arrive. A small crowd of reporters films the line still stretching around the building. Some men hold up their marriage certificates—legally issued, signed and stamped.

  A young woman holds a handmade sign:

  “WE WERE ALWAYS MARRIED. NOW THE STATE AGREES.”

  INT. TOWN HALL – PRIVATE OFFICE – SAME TIME

  Sheriff DAN BURNS, early 60s, watches the footage on a small TV. Standing beside him is a clean-cut man in a 6C preacher’s robe—Brother Eli.

  SHERIFF BURNS

  You boys stirred up a storm.

  BROTHER ELI (smiling faintly)

  Not a storm, Sheriff. Just a harvest long overdue.

  The Sheriff lights his pipe and shakes his head. He knows this is just the beginning.

  ***

  INT. WILLOW CREEK MUNICIPAL OFFICE – REGISTRAR ROOM – EARLY EVENING

  The sun casts an amber glow through the dusty windows of the old Willow Creek Town Hall, a single-story government building with faded state fgs and a coffee-stained ceiling fan spinning zily overhead.

  Inside, the registration office is quiet now—too quiet, compared to the crowd and commotion that roared through all day. Paperwork is stacked in uneven piles. The scanner light is still warm. The pstic bin beled “Completed Marriages” is overflowing.

  Three exhausted government workers sit slumped at their desks:

  BEV, 62, grumpy but loyal, clutches her reusable water bottle like it’s a lifeline.

  DWAYNE, 44, shirt half-untucked, rubs his temples with ink-stained hands.

  KELLY, 31, gsses smudged and mascara faded, leans back in her chair with a sigh so deep it feels centuries old.

  KELLY

  (half-joking)

  We just legalized ninety-eight polygamous marriages in a single day. I think I processed more wives than I have Facebook friends.

  DWAYNE

  (seething gently)

  That one guy had four wives. Four. All sisters. They showed up in matching denim dresses like it was coordinated.

  BEV

  I told y’all. I told y’all this day would come. You didn’t listen.

  She kicks off her shoes with a grunt.

  BEV (cont’d)

  Been working this desk since ‘93. You think I didn’t notice the “cousins” living in the same house with the same st name? Whole towns been pyin’ quiet games for decades. But today?

  DWAYNE

  Today the quiet part got screamed.

  KELLY ughs tiredly, flipping through a half-filled form.

  KELLY

  And now it’s our job to validate what the whole county already knew.

  BEV

  (sarcastic)

  God bless Texas.

  They all sit there, the hum of the vending machine in the corner the only sound. For a long moment, no one moves.

  DWAYNE

  We ran outta ink, by the way. Again.

  KELLY

  And coffee. And printer paper. Someone had to use voter registration sheets to photocopy a marriage license.

  BEV

  (groans)

  They’re gonna throw a fit in Austin.

  KELLY

  They already are. Got two voicemails from the attorney general’s office marked “urgent.”

  Outside, a truck backfires. Through the window, the st few families are walking home, clutching their stamped papers like golden tickets.

  DWAYNE

  You think this town’s gonna change?

  BEV

  (pause)

  Nah. This town already changed. We’re just the poor fools stuck filing the paperwork.

  ***

  NEWS ALERT – DAY 3 AFTER PLURAL MARRIAGE REFORM ACT PASSES

  BREAKING HEADLINE: “Nearly 12,000 Polygamous Marriages Registered Across Texas – Majority Concentrated in Northeast”

  "In an unprecedented wave, 11,792 men across Texas have registered legal plural marriages just three days after the controversial Plural Marriage Reform Act passed. State records confirm that 9,612 of these cases were concentrated in the rural northeast region, with an additional 2,030 in the northern counties. Experts believe most of these households had been practicing polygamy for generations—now, they’re stepping into the light."

  SOCIAL MEDIA REACTIONS – X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and Threads

  @SavannahStrong99 (Feminist Creator)

  “This isn’t new love—it’s legalized secrecy. Thousands of women trapped in outdated systems, and Texas just handed it legitimacy. #StepBackward #PolygamyLaw”

  @RealTexasRevival (Christian Conservative)

  “Turns out grandpa had two other families. And now they’re ALL legal. The Lord works in mysterious ways. #TexasTraditions #PolygamyPride”

  @GenZForPlurality

  “Wait. 11k+ plural husbands in 3 days? What were y’all doing out in northeast Texas?? #WhatDidIPassOnTheWayToWalmart”

  @LenaLeftist (Progressive Commentator)

  “Don’t let the quiet countryside fool you. This was an underground culture decades in the making. The w just opened the floodgates. #WakeUpTexas”

  @HaremUprising (Zara Lin)

  “Every household that stepped forward is an act of courage. Hidden families now have names, protection, and legal dignity. This is HERstory. #PolygamyIsPower #HaremUprising”

  @JuanitaTejas13

  “9,612 in northeast alone? You mean to tell me the Bible Belt’s been running side quests since the 1800s? #YallKnew #FamilySecrets”

  @TheDaughtersParty (Official Account)

  “This isn’t chaos. This is the truth coming to light. The system’s catching up to the people. #FeminismIncludesPlurality #NewPolitics”

  @BibleGalPatriot77

  “Just because they registered don’t make it holy. Y’all legalizing sin like it’s parking permits. #EndTimes”

  @LubbockLinda

  “I work in county records. The line was out the door. They brought casseroles. They brought children. They brought Bibles. They weren’t ashamed.”

  @CivicBanceNow (CBI)

  “Our researchers predicted cultural normalization. But the speed? That’s shockwave territory. Texas is the testing ground for theocratic normalization. #WatchClosely”

  TIKTOK: #PolygamyTexas

  A viral soundbite remix of a clerk yelling “Next polygamous household, please!” over trap beats.

  A young woman captioning her video “When your dad’s third wife is now your legal stepmom” and mouthing “Plot twist!”

  A preacher dancing in uniform with the caption “When 100-year tradition finally gets state recognition.”

  THREADS: Schorly Takes

  @DrNaomi_Kaye

  “This is not just a legistive moment—it’s an archaeological one. These aren’t ‘new marriages.’ These are unearthed lineages. The state has become a witness to rural cultural autonomy.”

  Texas is no longer just red or blue—it’s plural.

  ***

  ABC News

  "6C Polygamy Is Well-Thought—Republican Version Is Half-Assed, Say LDP Founders"

  In a scathing press conference this morning, Liberty Daughters Party (LDP) leaders—Sofia Nguyen, Izzy Cortez, and Jasmine Flores—bsted Texas Republicans for legalizing polygamy without establishing basic protections for women. Citing the nearly 12,000 polygamous registrations filed within 72 hours of the bill’s passage, the trio called it 'a legal disaster waiting to happen.'

  “Republicans rushed this w to appease a male voter base, but they left women behind,” said Jasmine Flores. “They didn’t even include divorce protocol. What happens when Wife #3 wants out?”

  The LDP leaders praised the 6C polygamy model—currently in effect across 20 theocratic states—as “ironically more feminist than Texas w,” pointing to the so-called ‘Wife Femme Cuse’ that guarantees housing rights, education stipends, and power-sharing councils within plural households.

  Fox News

  "LDP Praises 6C’s Polygamy Laws, Sms GOP's Sloppy Bill: ‘Half-Assed, No Protections’"

  Fox News is tracking the growing backsh against the Republican-led Plural Marriage Reform Act, not from the left, but from the newly formed Liberty Daughters Party. At a fiery presser in Austin, ex-Democrats Sofia Nguyen and Izzy Cortez tore into their former colleagues—but saved their harshest words for the GOP’s handling of polygamy.

  “We’re witnessing mass registrations—over 11,000 men in 3 days,” said Nguyen. “Yet women have no guaranteed rights to property, custody, or even leave.”

  Flores compared it to 6C w, saying: “As much as we disagree with 6C on many things, their plural marriage policies are structured, clear, and protective. Texas w looks like it was written on a bar napkin.”

  CNN

  "LDP Bsts Republican Polygamy Law as ‘Half-Baked’—Compares It to 6C's Structured Model"

  The Liberty Daughters Party (LDP) called a surprise press event today to address the fallout from the recently passed Plural Marriage Reform Act. According to state data, nearly 12,000 husbands have registered polygamous marriages since the bill's approval. But LDP leaders say the w is incomplete and reckless.

  “The Republican w has no cuse for shared finances, no pn for plural divorce, and no mechanism for dispute resolution,” said Izzy Cortez. “We don’t endorse 6C, but their plural ws include the Femme Cuse, which gives wives co-decision power and mandatory housing rights.”

  CNN legal analyst Marissa Keene added, “The GOP’s failure to address female protections may create a flood of legal chaos in family courts statewide.”

  CBS News

  "LDP: ‘Republicans Legalized Polygamy Without a Pn’—6C Model Offers More Protection"

  As the dust settles from Texas’ groundbreaking legalization of polygamy, the Liberty Daughters Party issued its strongest statement yet. Citing over 11,700 polygamous registrations in three days, LDP founders cim the new w is already falling apart.

  “This wasn’t a moral debate—it was a political stunt,” said Sofia Nguyen. “They passed it to gain male support, but never once considered how it affects the wives.”

  The press event included comparisons to 6C’s model across 20 states, noting the inclusion of a 'Wife Femme Cuse' that ensures fair housing, rotating leadership, and rights of refusal in plural homes.

  SOCIAL MEDIA REACTIONS

  @TexasMomUprising

  “So we’re supposed to believe 6C is better at women’s rights than Republicans?? What dimension is this?”

  @WifeThreeFreedom

  “Sofia and Izzy are right. I’m in a plural home. I don’t even know what rights I have now. This w left us in limbo. #FemmeCuseNow”

  @GenZ_Theocrat

  “Funny how the ex-Dem girls now sound like Zara Lin. 6C did their homework. Republicans rushed a frat-boy fantasy into w.”

  @SashaMcFeminist

  “This isn’t about left or right. This is about real women left unprotected. If we must legalize polygamy, then it BETTER come with safeguards.”

  @HaremUprising (Zara Lin repost)

  “Wives deserve dignity. Protection. Voice. These Daughters are te to the party—but they’re saying the truth. Welcome to the Harem Horizon.”

  @TexasLegalNerd

  “I just read both the GOP bill and the 6C model w. It’s embarrassing. Texas left out nearly everything that matters in a plural union. #HalfAssedLaw”

  @BaptistInDisbelief

  “Y’all. The libs AND the theocrats now agree the GOP polygamy w is trash. I’ve seen it all.”

  Texas remains on edge. The ideological firestorm is only beginning—and the Daughters Party just lit the match.