US appeals court tosses decision decriminalizing polygamy in Utah, a defeat for TV's 'Sister Wives'

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Associated Press, via the Richmond Times-Dispatch

Posted: Monday, April 11, 2016 1:29 pm

Associated Press |

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A federal appeals court has dismissed a decision that decriminalized polygamy in Utah, marking a defeat for the family from the TV show "Sister Wives."

The ruling handed down Monday by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver found the family can't sue because prosecutors never filed charges against them and authorities later said they wouldn't prosecute consenting adult polygamists.

The decision reverses a landmark 2013 ruling from a federal judge in Utah that removed the threat of arrest for polygamous families.

Kody Brown and his four wives sued over Utah's longstanding ban on plural marriages after local prosecutors said publicly that they were considering charges following the premiere of the show.


Read more: http://www.richmond.com/entertainment/ap/article_6e25195e-c07b-5c43-8166-cb6da26627de.html

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Darn those gays. We were promised that if the gays could get married, polygamy was next in line to be legalized.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

1. Who would want more than one mother-in-law?

[KamaAina]

2. Thread win!

[pennylane100]

3. Or even worst, two father-in-laws

[MidwestTech]

4. Assuming the women aren't related

Then there's the fact that women's cycles tend to synchronize...
I had enough of a time with ONE wife who I loved to death...I think FOUR would BE the death of me

[djg21]

14. That's a very old joke:

What's God's punishment for polygamy? Multiple wives.

[GOLGO 13]

8. There is iron in the wisdom of your words.

[jtuck004]

5. I think people should keep their noses out of the bedrooms of consenting adults.n/t

[LanternWaste]

6. Marriage takes place not merely in the bedroom of consenting adults...

Marriage takes place not merely in the bedroom of consenting adults...

[anigbrowl]

11. Was there supposed to be a point to this or was it just a free-floating assertion?

Because the 'public interest' argument was exposed as a hollow nothing during the gay marriage litigation and I don't find it any more persuasive with regard to other sexual minorities.

[reACTIONary]

12. I am find it persuasive in the case of polygamy . ..

.... imho polygamy is a patriarchal, male authoritarian institution that demeans and subjegates women. I believe that an individualistic, equalitarian society cannot afford or condone such atiquated and socially corrosive institutions.

I believe publically sanctioned and supported committed relationships should be between individuals who are free and equal partners - both hetro and gay marriages qualify, but polygamy does not.

[Akicita]

7. Agreed. Different strokes for different folks. Should be none of our business unless

coercion is involved.

[anigbrowl]

9. Agreed. I am ok with poly arrangements and think they should be legal

I've known quite a few multi-partner relationships among my friends and I don't see why they should be subject to legal disability or sanction. I am fully aware of the historical context and the potential for abuse, and I think there's just as much or more potential for abuse and oppression in monogamous relationships as in poly ones. Furthermore we actually have long-established systems for dealing with multiple partnerships in a business context and have used those rules successfully over centuries, so I don't buy the claim that having more than two people is just too complicated to figure out.

PS I've never seen this TV program in question and have no plans to do so, so please don't read my comment as an endorsement of whatever goes on on that show. I'm thinking of various poly families I've known while living in London and the Bay Area, which were entirely voluntary non-coercive and non-religious arrangements between smart and self-aware adults.

[maxsolomon]

10. Oftimes the Sister Wives aren't "consenting adults".

unless you mean technically.

[reACTIONary]

13. And the "sisters" are often...

.... children.