UTAH BAN ON PLURAL MARRIAGE QUESTIONED: From the Salt Lake Tribune

A lawyer for polygamous former Hildale police officer Rodney Holm urged the Utah Supreme Court on Thursday to lift a ban on plural marriage, and justices responded with sharp questions about whether the ban is constitutional.

Attorney Rodney Parker argued his client has a right not only to believe in a religious tenet of polygamy but also to practice his belief in a meaningful way.

"The ban on plural marriage affects so many fundamental rights," he said, contending that tens of thousands of Utahns are forced to hide their relationships for fear of prosecution.

Parker asked the high court to decriminalize polygamy, allowing its adherents to have a legal marriage with a first wife, then enter into religious unions with other women as a way to reach the highest degree of heaven.

He stressed Holm is not asking for legal polygamy, which would make marriage to each wife state-sanctioned. Under his request, married individuals could also live as a spouse to other partners without being considered part of a common-law marriage and, therefore, bigamists. ...

Associate Chief Justice Michael Wilkins asked about possible constitutional conflicts between religious tolerance and a prohibition on polygamy. Justice Jill Parrish wondered if a man living with a fiancee while waiting for his divorce to be finalized is a bigamist. ...

Divorces would become complicated with more than two people entangled in custody and other issues, she said.

But Durham said judges have been dealing for years with sticky domestic situations, including ones involving live-in partners, same-sex couples and surrogate parents.

"There is nothing to suggest polygamous relationships would be more or less complicated," the chief justice said.

more
posted by Eve at 9:54 PM VOTE

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home