Look out Industry State, the Sister Wives are coming for you! Kody Brown, his hair, and his flock of wives are suing the state of Utah and the county where they used to live citing that its bigamy statute is unconstitutional. The law prohibits people from having more than one legitimate marriage license (which isn’t odd, as polygamy laws go), but it also makes it illegal for someone to hold out as having multiple spouses, even without marriage licenses. The statute also cites it’s illegal for unmarried couples who share a sexual relationship to cohabitate. Essentially the Sister Wives lawsuit could have ramifications on unwed couples who live together as well as homosexual couples who cohabitate.
Kody and his harem allege that they were forced to leave the state to avoid prosecution, but the state’s attorney explains that he won’t prosecute polygamous couples unless there are other charges waged against them. He reveals that people often equate polygamy with sexual abuse and underage girls being promised to older men, and that isn’t the case with the Browns.
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Regardless of their claims of discrimination and according to the Huffington Post, a spokesperson for the state’s counsel issued a statement asserting that their claim “is not protected under religious freedom because states have the right to regulate marriage.”
Wednesday a judge dismissed the state’s Attorney General and Governor from the case because the Browns were not being prosecuted for any criminal conduct. However, the Brown’s case will go forward. Utah County’s Attorney General is still hoping to have their case thrown out since Kody and his wives no longer live in the jurisdiction.
A constitutional law expert recognizes that “the movement for the rights of polygamists has just not advanced enough to the point where the claim is going to seem legitimate to the courts.” She continues, saying that there is “much more acceptance of gay couples, of homosexuality in general…[and the polygamy issue] opens up a whole can of legal worms that is not really opened with the same sex marriage issue.”
It seems that Kody, Meri, Janelle, Christine, and Robyn may have an uphill battle with their lawsuit. While Kody is legally married to Meri, he purports to be spiritually married to his other wives. As we’ve already learned, that’s illegal in Utah.
Here’s the deal…every state has anti-bigamy laws. Utah takes its statute a bit further and doesn’t allow anyone to purport to be married to multiple spouses even if it’s not a recognized union. I am not sure how I feel about any of this to be honest. I know two things: Kody’s hair should be illegal, and every state has laws on the books that are incredibly outdated just because they have never been challenged. Heck, until a few years ago, the state where I live wouldn’t allow college sororities to have houses because having more than six females living in the same quarters constituted a whore house thanks to a one hundred plus year old statute. It’s still “illegal” in my state if you don’t pull over and turn off your car if you happen to find yourself on a road being passed by a horse. That said, I think Utah needs to re-evaluate their statue, but I’m not entirely sure it needs to be changed to the Sister Wives standard.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE BROWN’S LAWSUIT? SHOULD THE STATUTE BE CHANGED TO ALLOW POLYGAMY?
[Photo Credit: Sister Wives Facebook]
