Family members of Kody Brown who star on TLC’s reality-TV series “Sister Wives” filed a court brief that answers Utah’s appeal to reinstate a ban on polygamy this week, saying through their attorney: if the U.S. Supreme Court ruled states can’t ban “gay” marriage, then states ought not to be able to ban polygamy, either.
The family’s attorney, Jonathan Turley, cited Obergefell v. Hodges, the now-famous Supreme Court case that opened the door to nationwide same-sex marriage, while arguing that states can no longer cite codes to halt polygamists from marrying.
“From the rejection of morality legislation in Lawrence to the expansion of the protections of liberty interests in Obergefell, it is clear that states can no longer use criminal codes to coerce or punish those who choose to live in consensual but unpopular unions,” Turley wrote, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
Polygamy has been banned in Utah for years. But U.S. District Court Judge Clark Waddoups overturned that ban in late 2013. Then, same-sex marriage was not even brought into the argument.
But now, it is.
And not for the first time. As WND previously reported, a married Montana man, Nathan Collier, pressed for a marriage certificate to join his wife and his girlfriend to him in a lawful polygamist union, demanding “marriage equality” of the local government. Collier’s argument? He cited Obergefell v. Hodges, and Chief Justice John Roberts’ dissenting opinion that said giving the thumbs-up to gay marriage would open the door to polygamy.
The Browns, known on national television as the real-life characters of “Sister Wives,” had lived in Lehi, Utah, during their show’s first season. But upon criminal investigation, they packed up and moved to Las Vegas. The family’s now supporting the previous ruling from Judge Waddoups.
