Will Utah Become Less Hateful?

Utah, like every US state, needs relationship rights and full marriage equality for all adults. Unfortunately, Utah has been one of the worst of the states, going so far as to criminalize polyfidelity.

Change might be on the way, however. From thehill.com...

A bill that would effectively decriminalize polygamy among consenting adults in Utah was unanimously endorsed by a state Senate committee this week, sending the legislation to the full chamber for a vote, The Salt Lake City Tribune reported. 

The Utah Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee pushed the bill through after hearing testimony from those who said current state law labels law-abiding citizens as criminals.

Let adults have the relationships to which they mutually agree.

Sister Wives is Back

Television's favorite polygynists are back for another season, which means a bunch of news articles for publicity. Typically, there's the speculation that someone is leaving their marriage. This time, crime is invoked as the headline for this inquisitr.com writeup by Bernadette Giacomazzo is "Sister Wives’ Rumors: The Brown Family Seen As ‘Felons’ By The State Of Utah"...

When Meri Brown, one of the better-known stars of Sister Wives, decided that she was going to open up a bed and breakfast in the state of Utah, she knew she was taking huge chances.

Aside from the standard concerns that every first-time business owner has about her new business, a new report suggests that she was concerned about her family being considered “felons” by the state.

It's ridiculous that any consenting adults would be criminalized or otherwise discriminated against for their relationships.

This shocking report comes courtesy of the Salt Lake Tribune, which suggests that Meri and the other stars of Sister Wives have been living in Las Vegas for the past seven years to avoid being prosecuted for polygamy.

Despite the notion that Utah — which has a large Mormon population — has made polygamy legal, the reality is, it’s just as illegal to be married to more than one person at the same time in Utah as it is to be married to more than one person at the same time in any other state.

It's actually worse in Utah. Polyfidelity is criminalized.

The new season of Sister Wives begins on Sunday, January 14 on TLC. Check your local listings for the time and channel.

Do you watch the show? What do you think?

Every adult, regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation, should be free to share love, sex, residence, and marriage with any and all consenting adults, without fear of prosecution, bullying, or discrimination.

Technicality Leaves Discriminatory Utah Law Intact For Now

Since the Browns of "Sister Wives" haven't yet been prosecuted under Utah's ridiculous law against polyfidelity (they fled to Nevada), the US Supreme Court isn't taking up their case. Here's the report from Nate Carlisle at sltrib.com...

(Jerry Henkel | The Associated Press) Kody Brown sits with his wives in July at one of their homes in Las Vegas. They are the polygamist family featured on TLC’s "Sister Wives" program. Pictured are: top row, Janelle, left, and Christine; bottom row, Meri, left, Kody and Robyn.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear arguments from the husband and four wives who star in the television show “Sister Wives,” letting stand a lower court ruling that kept polygamy a crime in Utah.

The law needs to go, sooner rather than later. Until it is gone, people need to protect themselves, as ethical nonmonogamists should do anywhere.

Will Sister Wives Go to Washington?

Ben Winslow had an update at fox12now.com on the court case of the Browns, who've been featured in "Sister Wives." They are asking the Supreme Court to get involved.

Reality TV polygamist Kody Brown and his wives are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to consider a challenge to Utah's anti-polygamy laws.

Good for them. The law in Utah is even more discriminatory than the laws in the rest of the states, unconstutionally criminalizing polyfidelity.

Brown and his four wives, Meri, Christine, Janelle and Robyn, plan to file a petition for certiorari with the nation's top court, challenging the state's ban on polygamy. The petition, filed Monday, basically focuses on whether the Browns really faced a threat of prosecution from Utah County Attorney Jeff Buhman.
Brown family attorney Jonathan Turley argued they do.

"Mr. Buhman and his colleagues appear to value the law precisely because it can be used pre-prosecution for investigations and corresponding searches, which may only last hours or days," Turley wrote. "However, plural families and cohabitating adults must live under the constant threat of being subject to a different and easier threshold for searches since their very family structure is all that is needed to justify investigations."

Someone may try to defend keeping a bad, unconstitutional law on the books by saying that it isn't enforced often, or is only enforced against people who are doing other crimes. It's not true. All it takes is a power-hungry person with prejudice to use a bad law to harass people, drag them into court, split up their family, and other discriminatory actions.

Sister Wives is Back

Are you watching "Sister Wives" or have you watched it in the past? Lauren at realitytea.com has a very detailed recap of the start of the new season.

As we've noted, polygamy, and the wider spectrum of polyamory, looks different with different people. Some viewers are unavoidably going to watch shows like this and conclude that "This is how is how polygamy is."

For some people, it is.

But polygamy is more than polygyny, and even polygynous relationships are different in different families.

This is one situation.

This is one situation presented literally through a lens that limits our perspective.

Your mileage may vary. (Sorry, I don't know if there is an equivalent saying with kilometers.)

I'm glad the show is raising awareness, especially since the Browns have challenged the ridiculous law in Utah criminalizing polyfidelity.

Support Freedom, Fight Abuse

Andreea Nica has a piece at huffingtonpost.com under the headline of "Relationships: It's a Matter of Choice." [This entry is bumped up.] This is the start...

Any relationship construct has the ability to create an oppressive environment. Whether the construct identifies as monogamous, polyamorous, polygamous, polyandrous or any other relational form, abuse can exist within each and every one of these relationships.

Yes. Thank you! Much of the piece discusses isolated, patriarchal polygyny-only communities with abusive leaders.

As shown on Sister Wives, the four teens residing at Holding out Help met up with the Brown Family to witness a better example of a polygamist family. By the end of their visit, the teens who escaped their abusive situations, found the Brown family to be a healthier and more positive family unit than their own. Despite their approval of the Brown family, all of the teens still stated they wouldn't be part of a polygamous construct again.

That is their choice to make. There are many people who say they do not want to get married at all, having grown up in situations where they saw marriage as part of the problem.

This poses the question: Should the public accept the faith and choice of a relational dynamic if mental, relational, and personal health is compromised? As a proponent of the freedom to choose alternative forms of relationship, the expectation is that all parties involved find liberation through addressing fundamental matters around equality and agency; free from oppressive religious and ideological systems.

The issue, it seems to me, is domestic abuse, including child abuse.

Some women are going to freely choose polygyny, and they should be free to do so, as long as there are domestic violence protections under the law, and as long as those women legitimately have the freedom to NOT marry at all, to divorce, or to marry a woman, or two men, etc.

Polyamory in its various forms, including the various forms of polygamy, has always been around and it is not going away. It is coming out of the closet and will not be going back in. We must move forward to full marriage equality and relationship rights for all adults. Abuse will be easier to stop if we do not criminalize consensual relationships.

Utah Still Defends Criminalizing Polyfidelity

Utah leaders are sill defending their criminalization of polyfidelity, a particularly egregious violation of the freedom of association of consenting adults. Here's an Associated Press article from abcnews.go.com by Lindsay Whitehurst...

Utah state attorneys defending the state's anti-polygamy law argue it should stay on the books because it protects women and children from abuse.

Really? Are women and children more protected in Utah than every other state?

The Utah Attorney General is appealing a ruling striking down key provisions of the law in the case of Kody Brown and his four wives, stars of the reality TV show "Sister Wives." The state says in newly filed court documents that monogamous marriage is an important social unit and court rulings dating back to 1878 have upheld laws against polygamy.

"The United States Constitution does not protect the practice of polygamy as a fundamental right," state attorney Parker Douglas wrote.

We will see about that. Criminalization of consensual adult relationships has been struck down by the Supreme Court in case after case.

Brown family attorney Jonathan Turley countered Monday that the state's evidence of widespread abuse in polygamous communities is scant and the Browns show such unions can be healthy.

"As with monogamous families, the state has ample laws to prosecute individuals for abuse or other crimes," Turley said in an email to The Associated Press.

Exactly. Domestic violence and child abuse are criminal under other laws. Decriminalizing polyfidelity will actually make it easier to prosecute abuse.

The state is requesting oral argument in the case and Turley is preparing his response. He has said the family is prepared to take the legal fight to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.

I would love for the Court to take care of the issue this month in ruling on other cases.

Utah is appealing a 2013 ruling that struck down key provisions of the state's anti-polygamy law.

U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups decided that a provision of the state law forbidding cohabitation violated the polygamous Brown family's freedom of religion.

It also violated other basic rights adults have.

If the ruling stands, Utah's law would be like most other states that prohibit people from having multiple marriage licenses. In most polygamous families, the man is legally married to one woman but only "spiritually married" to the others.

They should all be free to legally marry. But until then, they shouldn't be denied their right to be together unmarried.

The teaching that polygamy brings exaltation in heaven is a legacy of the early Mormon church, but the mainstream Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints abandoned the practice in 1890 and strictly prohibits it today.

Many other groups citing Mormon heritage support polygyny.

An adult, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, or religion should be free to share love, sex, residence, and marriage (or any of those without the others) with any and all consenting adults, without prosecution, bullying, or discrimination. That's full marriage equality.

Kody Brown Should Not Have to Legally Divorce to Legally Marry

The latest news about the Browns of the television series "Sister Wives" shows one of the problems  with denying the polygamous freedom to marry as part of the overall denial of full marriage equality.

Brittany Wong  reports at huffingtonpost.com...

The reality show's patriarch Kody Brown has divorced one woman so he can marry another, E! Online has confirmed. Before the divorce, Brown was only legally married to Meri, but called three other women his spouses: Janelle, Christine and Robyn. Under the radar, Brown recently divorced Meri and is now legally wed to Robyn, the youngest sister wife. 

I don't think it is has been made public yet why this legal change was made.

Though neither Brown nor TLC explained why the family went forward with the divorce, entertainment website Zap2it suggests the swap may have been made to provide Robyn's three kids from a previous relationship with more security within the family. 

Between the four wives, the Browns have 17 children.

That's still not as many as the  monogamist Duggars.

There is no good reason to deny any of them their freedom to marry. If each of the women wants to be legally married to him, they should have that choice. He shouldn't have to legally divorce one to legally marry another. As long as all involved are consenting adults, they should not be denied their right to marry.

The US Supreme Court should make a decisive ruling for the rights of ALL adults.

Will Utah Make Legislative Baby Steps?

After a federal judge did what should have been a no-brainer to everyone and slapped down Utah's criminalization of polyfidelity and polyamorous cohabitation, a state legislator is trying to make baby steps in the law, as reported by Antone Clark at standard.net...

Rep. Jerry Anderson, R-Price, said House Bill 56 was inspired by a federal judge's ruling in December striking down part of the state's law banning polygamy, following legal action brought by the stars of a TV reality series "Sister Wives." The court ruling threw out the state's section of law prohibiting cohabitation, saying it violates the constitutional guarantee of due process and religious freedom.

Not to mention freedom of association, right to privacy, etc.

His bill is only 29 lines long, and essentially changes the definition of cohabitation and then points out under existing law, bigamy is a third-degree felony.

Bigamy shouldn't be a crime unless it involves fraud. An adult should be free to marry any & all consenting adults. If someone is married and they are marrying another, that shouldn't be hidden from current spouses. Absent that sort of deception, there's no reason for polyamorists to be denied their fundamental rights.

He said the state's existing bigamy definition forces many people into the shadows. He said thousands of schoolchildren list their fathers as unknown, to avoid dealing with the implications of being in violation of the law.

He said the state's existing definition of bigamy puts police officers in a tough position.

Exactly. Criminalization of consensual adult relationships is destructive, causing many unnecessary problems.

This is a baby step. Really, any US state needs relationship rights, including full marriage equality, for all.

UPDATE: The bill is "dead" as the lawmakers sit around waiting for further court action. Sigh.

Episcopal Priest Danielle Elizabeth Tumminio is a Ally For Poly

Danielle Elizabeth Tumminio wrote at cnn.com that she is an ally for the polygamous freedom to marry, thanks to the Browns...

Before I met the Browns – made famous by the reality television show “Sister Wives” – I had the kind of reaction most modern-day Christians would have to their lifestyle: Polygamy hurts women. It offers girls a skewed perspective of who they can be. It happens on cultish compounds. It’s abusive.

Yet when the Browns' show debuted, I began to question some of those assumptions, and when I had the opportunity to meet them a few years ago, I questioned them further.

In getting to know Kody, Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn, and their children, I saw that these parents were extremely invested in raising girls and boys who were empowered to get an education, become independent thinkers and have a moral compass.

Go read it all, especially if you are interested in a Christian perspective.

It is good to see the Browns and "Sister Wives" making a difference.

We'll keep evolving so that an adult can share love, sex, residence, and marriage with any and all consenting adults!

Polygamy Ruling Doesn't Go Far Enough

Polygamy, plural marriage, polyamory… the news and commentary media coverage has been more than plentiful since the Browns of Sister Wives won recently in a court decision that overturned an item in Utah law that was, perhaps, the most restrictive of its kind in the country.

There has been so much confusion about what actually happened.

No, unfortunately, the court did not grant the polygamous freedom to marry.

What it did was overturn what was, when you get down to it, the criminalization of a polyfidelitous form of polyamory. Under Utah law, people have been free to have a different sex partner every night, and have children with all of them. What they were prevented from doing was actually living with or considering themselves as married to more than one person at a time. So again, if one woman wanted to have sex and children with five different men, that was OK, but she was a criminal if she lived with two men and called both of them her husbands.

It was a ridiculous law, intended to attack religious minorities for their practice of what they call plural marriage, a religion-based form of polygyny. Yet how effective was it at actually stopping polygynous living, or, what is really important, preventing spousal and child abuse? It wasn’t. I argue that such laws actually help perpetuate domestic violence and child abuse by making victims and witnesses more reluctant to cooperate with law enforcement because their own consensual, non-abusive relationships are criminalized.

Anti-equality and compulsory monogamy finger-waggers have been acting like this ruling is the end of the world, no doubt using it as a fundraiser for their certified hate groups. And other people ignorant about what is really going on have regurgitated the ridiculous “polygamy is bad for women and unattractive men” warning (see Discredited Arguments #9, 15, and 16). Some monogamist gay commentators have been throwing poly folks under the bus.

But the court decision is hardly envelope-pushing. It aids long-established, fundamental rights such as the freedom of association and freedom of religion, and brings Utah a little closer to the other 49 states and most of the modern world in no longer allowing law enforcement to march into your home and say, “You can’t love and commit to more than one person! Off to jail with you!”

What I wish the ruling had done was recognize the polygamous freedom to marry (which is what some people seem to think happened.) It is nice to see that, even though there is much bigotry-spewing and there are plenty of bus sightings, there are also many allies standing up and challenging people with the simple question, “What’s wrong with letting people be with the consenting adults they love?” Although the ruling did not go far enough, it is a step in the right direction, and the civil rights march has often progressed through baby steps.

There is still much work to do, but full marriage equality will happen. We will get there. A woman, like a man, should be free to share love, sex, residence, and marriage (or any of those without the others) with ANY and ALL consenting adults, without prosecution, bullying, or discrimination. If a woman wants to marry a man who is already married, that is of no ill effect to anyone else. If she wants to marry two women, that hurts nobody. Let them be! Let them marry!

TLC to Showcase Another Polygynous Family

TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT. I'm happy TLC is doing this, and I hope they feature other forms of polygamy and polyamory in the future. In the minds of a lot of people, if it isn't monogamy, it's polygyny, but that's not reality. Scott D. Pierce reports at sltrib.com...

"My Five Wives," featuring Brady Williams, his wives Paulie, Robyn, Rosemary, Nonie, Rhonda and their 24 children, debuts Sunday, Sept. 15, on TLC. It's essentially a pilot for a possible series.

I hope it is good, giving another positive look at ethical nonmonogamy, and that it catches on with viewers.

The Williams are described as a "big, loving, progressive polygamous family ... who all live together on their large family property outside Salt Lake City."

These aren't your average polygamists, however. Brady is an ex-Mormon, but this group isn't particularly religious, we're led to believe.

"Believing in equality for everyone and a God who loves and accepts all, the Williams family emphasize that their choice to be together is more about their mutual love and commitment than it is about religion," according to TLC. "Though their beliefs and their decision to leave their church have led them to be shunned by their community and estranged from many family members, the Williams believe their sacrifices are worth it."

Do they really support full marriage equality? That would be sweet.

If you read the story, these are not fleeting made-for-TV relationships, but ones that have endured many years. There's no good reason why they shouldn't be free to be together and to marry.

What do you think? Will you watch?

New Episodes of Sister Wives

"Sister Wives," the TLC show featuring the polygynous Browns, is back. Are you watching? Here's an article from Ree Hines at today.com...

Kyle Christy / TLC

The Brown family, from left, Christine, Meri, Janelle, Robyn and Kody. 

Even though Kody Brown and his four wives — Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn — have been open about how they live their lives for some time now, there are still those who have big problems with the polygamous family and aren't shy about saying so.

Some people are rude.

While the Brown family practices a very different sort of polygamy than that seen in Jeffs' church, it's a difference that's lost on some.

Some people are ignorant.

"I just feel like we live in a world of diversity, and we've chosen how to structure our family," Kody explained. "And we are not pushing it on other people. We don’t even push it on our children."

It's a live-and-let-live attitude he'd like to see from others.

That would be nice to have sooner rather than later. Let's make it happen!

Here's what was printed at radaronline.com...

A major theme this season for the Sister Wives is the decision that Meri must make about whether or not she wants to have another child with Kody, via IVF or using Robyn as a surrogate.

I think anything that puts a real face on consensual nonmonogamy is a good thing. We need more productions that depict the diversity withing polyamory and polygamy.


Okay, dear readers, what is your take? Are you watching?

Bigots Claim to Know Happy Home is Unhappy

Insulting as it may be, there are people who claim to know that the homes other people have made for themselves can't possibly be happy ones, no matter what the people in those homes say. Khusbu Bhakta reports at unlvrebelyell.com on an appearance by the Browns of "Sister Wives." The television personalities returned to UNLV to possibly open more minds.

Kody Brown from Sister Wives explaining his role in the show at the Marjorie Barrick Museum Auditorium on Thursday, April 25, 2013. PHOTOS BY PAULINA ZENG/THE REBEL YELL

“The great thing about [polygamy] is that it was our choice,” said patriarch Kody Brown. He held his position during the panel in the center of his four wives — Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn. Each time he spoke they looked at him in admiration.

The women were dressed in contemporary attire — high heels, black skirts and slacks and brightly colored tops. Their hair was blown out, their faces made-up and no bonnet in sight.

There are many flavors of polygamy and even more of polyamory.

A member of the crowd stood up and asked if the women were looking to Kody Brown for permission before they spoke.

Meri Brown heatedly grabbed the microphone and said she looks at her husband because she loves him and when she wants to speak she will. The audience applauded.

Women can and do freely choose to enter into polygynous relationships.

Jillian Keenan is an Ally For the Polygamous Freedom to Marry

Jillian Keenan writes at slate.com that polygamy should be legalized, and this is drawing much attention.

Sister-wives Valerie, left, and Vicki serve breakfast to their children in their polygamous house in Herriman, Utah, in this file photo from May 30, 2007. Photo by Kamil Krzaczynski/Reuters

While the Supreme Court and the rest of us are all focused on the human right of marriage equality, let’s not forget that the fight doesn’t end with same-sex marriage. We need to legalize polygamy, too. Legalized polygamy in the United States is the constitutional, feminist, and sex-positive choice. More importantly, it would actually help protect, empower, and strengthen women, children, and families.

Thank you!

But legalizing consensual adult polygamy wouldn’t legalize rape or child abuse. In fact, it would make those crimes easier to combat.

Exactly!

Right now, all polygamous families, including the healthy, responsible ones, are driven into hiding (notwithstanding the openly polygamous Brown family on TLC’s Sister Wives, that is). In the resulting isolation, crime and abuse can flourish unimpeded. Children in polygamous communities are taught to fear the police and are not likely to report an abusive neighbor if they suspect their own parents might be caught up in a subsequent criminal investigation. In a United States with legalized polygamy, responsible plural families could emerge from the shadows—making it easier for authorities to zero in on the criminals who remain there.

The focus of this piece is polygynous or plural marriage in the Mormon tradition, but let's not forget traditional polyandry and various forms of polyamory.

Speaking Up For Discrimination in Utah

Yes, there are people with enough time on their hands to actively support a discriminatory law that criminalizes consenting adults living together or presenting themselves as having a polyamorous, polygamous, or plural marriage. Makes we wonder if there is anything about their relationships some people might object to?


Mark Green at fox13now.com reports...

An organization that opposes decriminalizing polygamy in Utah made its presence known at the Utah Capitol this morning.

Members of the Sound Choice Coalition visited with state officials and asked them to resist loosening Utah’s laws regarding polygamy.

The organization’s founder, Kristyn Decker, is a former polygamist, and she said if Utah moves to decriminalize polygamy it will allow the state to become a haven for the abuses that come along with the practice.

Allowing an ADULT their right to share love, sex, residence, and marriage with ANY and ALL consenting adults will actually make it EASIER to prosecute abusers, because victims and witnesses will not be fearful of law enforcement just because they are in a polyamorous relationship. It is absurd that Utah has laws against consenting adults simply living together. Stop the hate and bigotry. Any woman (and any man) should be free to marry a woman, a man, two women, two men, etc. Stop blaming consensual adult relationships for abuse, which happens in supposedly monogamous homes, too.

Decker said many people who seem to be happy with polygamy are actually miserable, and she said she once pretended to be happy in a polygamous lifestyle.

She knows what is better for YOU, got it???

The Utah law is ridiculous and needs to go. Abuse will still be illegal. It will be easier to prosecute.

Anti-Equality Utah Law in Court

The court case involving the "Sister Wives" polygynists (plural marriage) is in the news again. Remember, this case is in court because Utah has laws that more or less criminalize polyamorous cohabitation or considering more than one person your spouse. Here is the report at sltrib.com by Nate Carlisle and Jim Dalrymple II...

As the hearing proceeded, Waddoups zeroed in on the definition of a polygamous relationship. Posing a hypothetical question he asked what the difference was between a polygamous relationship and an unmarried man who chooses to have intimate relationships with three women.

After a series of increasingly heated exchanges, Assistant Utah Attorney General Jerrold Jensen replied that a polygamous relationship is different. He said it was defined by people representing themselves as married.

“I think it’s the representation that they make to the world,” Jensen said.

Waddoups questioned whether the state had created an arbitrary standard for prosecuting relationships.

“The law has to draw a line somewhere,” Jensen argued.

“They have to be rational lines,” Waddoups shot back.

The rational line is consenting adults. Adults should be free to share love, sex, residence and marriage with ANY consenting adults.

Waddoups said he wondered if Utah’s bigamy statute was created to “stamp out a religious practice.”

Jensen said that religion clearly was a part of past anti-polygamy laws, but also argued that every state has laws that ban polygamy.

Waddoups questioned Jensen for about 40 minutes. Waddoups questioned Turley for about half that.

Turley criticized the states’ reliance on stories and anecdotal evidence to say polygamy fostered abuse.

“I can give stories in the tens of thousands in monogamous marriages where abuse has occurred,” Turley said.

There is no good reason to deny adults the right to love who and how they want. The law in Utah needs to go, but it will be just one step along the way. Nationwide, we need to allow freedom of religion, freedom of association, and full marriage equality. Abusers will be easier to find and prosecute if the stigma and criminalizations against plural marriages, polygamy, and polyamory are eliminated. There more at the website's blog.

Polyamory Rising

Thanks in no small part to the Browns and their TLC television show, "Sister Wives," awareness of consensual polygamy (especially plural marriages) is increasing. The same goes for the Showtime's Polyamory show. Both shows and related media and discussion will contribute to relationship rights for poly people, including the freedom to marry and, ultimately, full marriage equality.

The Browns lead a forum at UNLV, prompting some news coverage. Here's a report from Paul Takahashi at lasvegassun.com...

Christopher DeVargas

Kody Brown, center, is flanked by two of his four ‘Sister Wives,” Christine, at left, and Meri, at right.

There are more than 850 societies around the world that practice polygamy, and an estimated 30,000 or more plural families living in the United States, Blumer said. However, because of a negative cultural stigma and legal concerns, most plural families live largely in secrecy.

When the Brown family came out to their monogamous friends relatives some 20 years ago, it strained relationships and broke some bonds.

The Browns also suffered repercussions when their family made national headlines after "Sister Wives" first aired. Meri lost her job, Kody lost a couple of advertising clients and Robyn had a difficult time finding work.

For a couple of years, the family also faced legal prosecution. 

How ridiculous it is that people perpetuate such bigotry.

Advancing the Polygamous Freedom to Marry

Lindsay Whitehurst at sltrib.com has an update on the Browns' court case.

A federal judge on Wednesday grilled a state attorney pushing for dismissal of a lawsuit filed by reality TV show stars that could decriminalize polygamy in Utah.

Prosecutors say the "Sister Wives" case should be dismissed because they won’t file bigamy charges against the polygamous Brown family, but U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups questioned whether that move was a "ruse" to duck the suit.

This sounds good.

"What about the next couple?" Waddoups said. "What’s the policy reason behind this that would give assurances that prosecutions won’t occur in the future?"

We need laws that criminalize and discriminate against consensual adult relationships overturned. They should never be around to be used selectively as tools against love.

Meanwhile, at time.com, Belinda Luscombe has coverage (some of it behind a paywall) of the Dargers and looks at the rising awareness of polygamy.

Polygamy is one of the few practices that still evokes genuine disgust in people. It’s a watchword for ignorance, sexual depredation, oppression of women and weird culty outfits.

To bigots and people ignorant of the wide range of polygamy and the wider range of polyamory.

The more attention, the better. More and more people are seeing that the polygamous freedom to marry, and full marriage equality for all, is a good thing, not a bad thing.

It's On - The Browns Going After Anti-Equality Law

Back in the news is the good work of the Browns of "Sister Wives" as they seek to get Utah's ridiculous law overturned. Full marriage equality is getting closer and closer. Here's the article from Brian Skoloff of the Associated Press.

Kody Brown and his four wives want what any family wants, to live in the privacy of their own home free from government intrusion, and out from under the threat of criminal prosecution for — as they see it — just loving each other.

 

"As they see it?" It is the way any rational person sees it.

Brown and his wives — Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn — remain victims and continue to live under the stigma of being considered felons, Turley said, noting they fled to Nevada last year.

While all states outlaw bigamy, some like Utah have laws that not only prohibit citizens from having more than one marriage licence, but also make it illegal to even purport to be married to multiple partners. Utah’s bigamy statute even bans unmarried adults from living together and having a sexual relationship.

Ridiculous.

Arguments are being heard today. Let's advance equality!