Judge Softens Utah's Anti-Polygamy Law

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Judge Softens Utah's Anti-Polygamy Law

by Dan Bammes
December 18, 2013


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After federal district Judge Clark Waddoups' decision, Utah still prohibits bigamy — a marriage license can only be issued for one spouse at a time. But the ruling does prevent the state from using "cohabitation" as a basis for prosecution. Previously, authorities could prosecute men and women for living together in what appeared to be a polygamous relationship.

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Regardless, a wink and a nod produces more babies on the ranch.

 

[Star]

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Judge Softens Utah's Anti-Polygamy Law

by Dan Bammes
December 18, 2013


<snip>

After federal district Judge Clark Waddoups' decision, Utah still prohibits bigamy — a marriage license can only be issued for one spouse at a time. But the ruling does prevent the state from using "cohabitation" as a basis for prosecution. Previously, authorities could prosecute men and women for living together in what appeared to be a polygamous relationship.

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...the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Clark Waddoups makes it clear that neither fundamentalist Mormons nor anyone else has an inherent right to multiple marriages. The state of Utah can continue to limit one marriage license to two people, under the same rules it has always followed, just as every other state does.

But the problem with Utah's law is that it didn't just outlaw true polygamy, which is the practice of claiming more than one legal spouse at a time. It also prohibited cohabitation by unmarried people with multiple sexual partners.

Thus the famous cohabiting fundamentalist Mormons in the reality series "Sister Wives" were considered by the state to be violating the law even though they were not officially married; they moved to Nevada to avoid the possibility of prosecution, and filed suit to challenge the Utah law.

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