The U.S. Supreme Court decided on Monday not to hear an appeal from the stars of the TLC reality show, Sister Wives, that challenges Utah’s polygamy laws, thus closing the door on any chance of the legalization of polygamy – at least for now.
The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting on the decision handed down by the Supreme Court without comment on Monday which will leave a lower court ruling stand and keep polygamy a crime in Utah.
The case, known as Brown v. Buhman, was brought by Kody Brown and his wife Meri, along with his three “spiritual wives” Janelle, Christine and Robyn. The family sought to remove penalties for the practice of polygamy even though they were never formally charged with the practice. They merely contended that having such a law on the books and a 2010 investigation by local police – which sent the family fleeing to another state – was enough to constitute discrimination.
A federal judge sided with the Browns in 2013 and struck down the portion of Utah’s bigamy laws that focused on polygamy, but an appeals court overturned that ruling in 2016. The family decided to appeal to the Supreme Court.
The decision not to hear the case is a major setback for those who hoped that the Court’s 2015 ruling in favor of gay marriage would open the door to yet another liberal interpretation of marriage allowing multiple spouses.
It was especially disappointing because some lawyers believed the Brown family represented the best chance in years to overturn bigamy laws because they were all consenting adults who had no record of sexual assault or fraud.
The Utah attorney general argued that “polygamy is inherently harmful to women and children and that the state has an interest in keeping it a crime if only as a way to help it prosecute more serious crimes within polygamous communities,” the Tribune reports.
In a statement, Brown family attorney Jonathan Turley expressed disappointment in the refusal but vowed to continue the fight.
“Plural and unconventional families will continue to strive for equal status and treatment under the law. They will continue to seek the promise that led to the formation of this Republic: the right of every family to live according to their own faith and values,” he wrote. “The refusal of the Supreme Court to hear their case will not make tens of thousands of families disappear or resolve the underlying claims of discrimination and harassment. These families will remain (as will their demand for freedom of religion and equal protection).”
Kristyn Decker, a former plural wife who runs an anti-polygamy group called Sound Choices Coalition, expressed gratitude to the Supreme Court for refusing to hear the case.
“Research (especially that done by Canada’s Supreme Court), proves that polygamy is inherently harmful to women, children and to Society as a whole,” Decker wrote in a statement. “We hope those who’ve been raised to believe they must live polygamy to attain their salvation, or because of family tradition, will soon awaken to that nonsense and find genuine freedom and happiness.”
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