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Governor: Utah Should Defend Anti-Polygamy Law

Utah's governor says the state should appeal a court ruling that favors the family on the TV show "Sister Wives" and strikes down key parts of a law criminalizing polygamy.

Utah's governor says the state should appeal a court ruling that favors the family on the TV show "Sister Wives" and strikes down key parts of a law criminalizing polygamy.

 

Republican Gov. Gary Herbert said Thursday at his monthly televised news conference on KUED that state laws should be defended in court until all appeals are exhausted.

 

For now, it appears to be legal in Utah for people to legally marry one person and live with others they consider spouses. Though that practice was illegal until a judge's ruling that was finalized Wednesday, police and prosecutors in Utah have long declined to criminally charge consenting adults in plural marriages.

 

The lack of enforcement may have influenced U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups' decision, Herbert said, but the law should stay on the books.

 

"I think it's probably not good policy and good practice for families to have that kind of a situation, so that's my own provincial view of traditional marriage," Herbert said.

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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