Quote Originally Posted by JohnMichael View Post
On the other hand why should someone be allowed to marry multiple times when I am not allowed to marry once in my state.
To be clear. Polygamists cannot legally marry multiple wives. The wives may be recognized as such by the religion, but not by the state. My understanding is that only the first wife is a legal union. Subsequent wives are ceremonial only and do not share the same 'legal' rights.

The ironic thing here John, I think, is that they are actually fighting to have the same rights that you do.

The case has the potential to force another reexamination of laws governing individuals' sexual choices and lifestyles. It comes after the US Surpeme Court in 2003 struck down a Texas antisodomy law as an unconstitutional intrusion into private conduct, and at a time when views about marriage are in flux.

Legal analysts say it is important for the public to understand what this latest lawsuit is not about.

“This is not about the Browns' attempt to get Utah to recognize polygamous marriage, but rather to ask the federal courts to tell them they cannot punish intimate conduct,” says Melissa Murray, assistant professor of law at the UC Berkeley School of Law. The Browns will argue that the 2003 Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence v. Texas should extend to the practice of having multiple wives, she says.

Adds Herma Hill Kay, a US Berkeley law professor: “They are not seeking to have their relationship validated as a marriage. They’re just trying to avoid criminal prosecution.”
Understandably, the State of Utah is very sensitive to Polygamy. There is a large Mormon Fundamentalist population there and there have been many reports of physical and mental abuse among this sect, with families broken up and children removed from homes for their safety.

But it doesn't seem to me that this family falls into that same category...or do they?