If you’ve been thinking about picking up a second or third spouse for the holiday season, you’ll be happy to know that a U.S. District Court judge just kicked open the polygamy laws in Utah.
Polygamist Kody Brown of TLC‘s Sister Wives?reality series, together with his wives Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn, filed a suit two years ago challenging Utah’s bigamy law. The Brown’s attorney Jonathan Turley said:
The Browns wanted to show people that a plural family is not a monstrosity. They don’t commit collateral problems.
Collateral problems meaning pedophilia and other forms of child and spousal abuse.
Lucky for them, though, “Christmas came early” last Friday when U.S. Disctrict Court Judge Clark Waddoups found the phrase “or cohabits with another person” a violation of both the First and Fourteenth amendments, essentially thereby legalizing polygamy — a practice recognized through religious ceremonies deemed unofficial by the government.
The cohabitation law was Utah’s main tool for restricting and constricting the more zealous, fundamentalist Mormons still practicing polygamy despite the fact that the Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints church renounced the practice in order to become incorporated into the Union back in 1890. There are an estimated 38,000 fundamentalist Mormons allegedly practicing polygamy across the nation, mostly concentrated in Utah and its surrounding states. Roughly 15,000 fundamentalists don’t belong to a formal or specific church. The Browns, however, are members of the Apostolic United Brethren Church.
Judge Waddoups stated in his 91-page ruling that Utah’s polygamy ban would now only be interpreted as such:
In the literal sense — the fraudulent or otherwise impermissible possession of two purportedly valid marriage licenses for the purpose of entering into more than one purportedly legal marriage.
Until recently, it was illegal to cohabitate or even speak of having multiple spouses, rendering Utah the most strict of the 50 states on the matter. Don’t even joke about it in the state of Utah. It’s that hot of an issue.
Many are outraged by Judge Waddoups ruling, naturally.
Russell Moore of the Southern Baptist Convention stated regarding Judge Waddoups’ ruling, referencing the Supreme Court’s DOMA ruling at the top of the year that struck down defining marriage as between a man and a woman:
This is what happens when marriage becomes about the emotional and sexual wants of adults, divorced from the needs of children for a mother and a father committed to each other for life.
Moore continued:
Polygamy was outlawed in this country because it was demonstrated, again and again, to hurt women and children. Sadly, when marriage is elastic enough to mean anything, in due time it comes to mean nothing.
Utah Attorney General Jerrold Jensen argued that Utah has a unique history regarding polygamy for more than 100 years, resulting in the victimization of thousands of young girls and boys.
Every state in the nation has these laws — and not every state has Mormon polygamists… I’ll tell you what makes it different — the harm to women and children coming out of a polygamous relationship. We have a history of it in Utah — stories in the thousands.
Others, of course, are rejoicing at Judge Waddoups’ decision, hailing it a victory for individual rights and liberty. President of the Libertas Institute, Connor Boyack, said of the ruling:
[It is a] new beginning and an important invalidation of an unjust law… [The] ruling will help integrate these communities into society so that when abuse does occur, it will be more willingly reported and investigated.
Cofounder Anne Wilde of the polygamy advocacy group Principle Voices stated:
Now that we’re no longer felons, that’s a huge relief. They no longer have to be afraid that someone will knock at their door and take away their kids. This decision will hopefully take away the stigma of living a principle that’s a strongly held religious belief.
On a personal level, Brown attorney Jonathan Turley said the burden of proof that polygamy resulted in child abuse was on the state, arguing also that the exile of young boys in order to make way for the older men to select multiple brides was a myth. Judge Waddoups also stated that the Browns’ 17 children are irrelevant to a case revolving around the wishes and desires of consenting adults.
Attorney Jonathan Turley went on to say:
We’re asking for what Justice Brandeis called the most important constitutional right, the right to be left alone.
The judge’s ruling in Brown v. Buhman was obviously a huge victory for the Brown family who had to flee to Las Vegas last year in order to avoid possible prosecution. They issued the following statement:
The entire Brown family is humbled and grateful for this historical ruling from the court today. Like thousands of other plural families, we have waited many years for this day. While we know that many people do not approve of plural families, it is our family and based on our beliefs. Just as we respect the personal and religious choices of other families, we hope that in time all of our neighbors and fellow citizens will come to respect our own choices as part of this wonderful country of different faiths and beliefs. There are so many families who have waited for so long for this ruling and, on their behalf, we can only say: thank you, Judge Waddoups, for your courageous decision. We want to particularly thank our lead counsel Professor Jonathan Turley who represented us through the criminal investigation and then led the fight against this law. We also want to thank the team of lawyers and students from George Washington, including our local counsel Adam Alba. We are so honored and blessed to have been able to serve as the vehicle for this milestone ruling. Professor Turley has pledged to defend this decision on appeal and we are equally committed to fight to preserve this great victory.
There is no word as of yet as to whether the Utah Attorney General’s Office intends to appeal the ruling.
Edited/Published by: SB
