Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Legal challenge to Utah's polygamy law

Kody Brown and his four wives, a Utah family featured on the television show "Sister Wives," are expected to file suit on Wednesday challenging the state's polygamy law. Read the New York Times story here. An excerpt focusing on the legal arguments follows:
The lawsuit is not demanding that states recognize polygamous marriage. Instead, the lawsuit builds on a 2003 United States Supreme Court decision, Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down state sodomy laws as unconstitutional intrusions on the “intimate conduct” of consenting adults. It will ask the federal courts to tell states that they cannot punish polygamists for their own “intimate conduct” so long as they are not breaking other laws, like those regarding child abuse, incest or seeking multiple marriage licenses.

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