Judge Upholds Ban on Polygamous Marriage
The Associated Press,
February 17, 2005
Washington Post version
SALT LAKE CITY—A county clerk can
legally refuse to issue a marriage license for a polygamous union, a federal
judge ruled, turning aside the argument that a landmark Supreme Court decision
overturning anti-sodomy laws should also be applied to plural marriage.
U.S. District Judge Ted Stewart on Wednesday rejected the
argument that the state’s ban on polygamy violates constitutional rights of
religion and privacy, saying the state has an interest in protecting
monogamous marriage.
The judge emphasized his ruling was about marriage, not
personal sexual conduct. He cited cases as far back as an 1878 Supreme Court
ruling upholding the polygamy conviction of George Reynolds, personal
secretary to Mormon pioneer leader Brigham Young.
The ruling upheld a decision by the Salt Lake County
Clerk’s Office in December 2003 to refuse a marriage license for a couple in
which the man was seeking a second wife. He, his wife and the would-be second
wife all joined in the suit, saying plural marriage is a central tenet in
their religious beliefs.
Stewart said the 2003 Supreme Court ruling in Lawrence
v. Texas, which found that a Texas anti-sodomy law violated the
privacy of consenting adults, did not apply to the Utah case.
“Contrary to plaintiffs’ assertion, the laws in
question here do not preclude their private sexual conduct,” Stewart said.
“They do preclude the state of Utah from recognizing the marriage ... as a
valid marriage under the laws of the state of Utah.”
Attorney Brian Barnard said his clients—identified as
G. Lee Cook, his wife, D. Cook, and his would-be second wife, J.
Bronson—will appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals and, if necessary,
the Supreme Court.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints practiced
polygamy in the 19th century but abandoned it when Utah sought statehood. Its
prohibition was written into the state’s constitution. Today, the Mormon
church excommunicates members who advocate polygamy, but there may be as many
as 30,000 adherents in the West.
On the Net:
County clerk: http://www.clerk.slco.org/html/marriage.html
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