A polygamous family says the landmark Supreme Court ruling legalizing same-sex marriage shows that laws prohibiting consensual adult relationships are outdated even if the unions are unpopular.
Kody Brown and his four wives argue in court documents filed Wednesday that their family life chronicled on the reality TV show Sister Wives shows that polygamous marriages can be as healthy as monogamous ones.
The Browns are defending a legal victory they won when a federal judge struck down key parts of Utah’s law banning polygamy, removing the threat of arrest for plural families.
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes is appealing. The state contends the law prevents abuse of women and children and courts have long upheld anti-polygamy laws.
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Unlike the same-sex marriage case, the Browns aren’t seeking full legal recognition of polygamous marriages.
Brian JC Kneeland
same sex marriage and marrying multiple persons are two very different things!
Bobby Douglas
Gay folks are born the way we are, polygamy folks choose to do what they do. Big difference.
Milton Appleby
Apples to oranges.
Spike
They have every right to do so and if the conservative christian right opposes such an idea, they have every right to try and stop it.
Desert Boy
The Mormon Church could step in and stop these polygamous arrangements if they wanted to.
sportyguy1983
And let the hypocrisy From the gay community on this issue commence.
Ladbrook
@sportyguy1983: What hypocrisy? I doubt that the “gay community” has some single or universal opinion on this issue.
Louie Mars
Um,no…don’t cite same sex marriage to promote your icky CHOICE to have more than one spouse…
Jason Peil
To use liberation of one form to justify servitude in another is purile.
Sidney Davies
All these hateful comments disgust me. Humans were never actually meant to be monogamous, we were meant to have multiple partners. And If it’s between consenting adults, it should be none of anyone else’s business what they want or what they do.
These comments are so hypocritical, and I’m LGBTQ. Grow up people.
Cagnazzo82
Person A can have cake. Person B cannot have cake. Person B takes it upon himself to fight for parity so that he can have cake just like Person A.
Meanwhile Person C who also already had his cake now wants 10 more. And he’s basing his rationale for wanting more on account of the fact that Person B now also has cake.
Clearly something’s not adding up here.
Realitycheck
I hate to be the one to discriminate, but NO it is not the same, I was born gay and I knew it by age 3-4, no choice on that matter, a pig marring 5 wives, sorry that is 100% choice, nobody can and will stop the pig from living with as many women as he wants but polygamy is not anywhere
the same as Gay marriage.
Realitycheck
@Sidney Davies: Is that a fact or your opinion? Most people would disagree you, I believe to each one its own if you need to spread your legs for multiple partners, more power to you and I wish you a healthy and fun life.
But that is You,not me or the next guy, the comments you read reflects people opinions as much as your reflects your opinion, nobody needs to grow here, deal with it
Jack Walter
It’s not a problem to only grant a marriage license to no more than two people. Can you imagine the legal issues that would result from four, five or even fifteen people who want to marry each other? It would be insanity. It’s not a moral issue, it’s a practical issue.
ingyaom
If five adults freely want to marry each other, then I say, why not? Not sure why this has to do with marriage equality, however. Marriage equality says if two people can legally get married, it doesn’t matter if those people are the same- or opposite-sex. Plural marriage would be something else, but I don’t see why it should be illegal.
Daveliam
I’ve always maintained that I have absolutely no issues with polygamy between consenting adults. Obviously, this does not extend to child-brides. But if three consenting adults want to marry each other? What the hell do I care? Go for it.
That being said, I don’t see how this issue is related to same/sex marriage. At all.
McShane
What!?! No. Kody Brown sets off every alarm and warning sign for me. Just look at this guy… http://i.imgur.com/yfBge.gif This is white noise designed to drum up attention for the upcoming season of the show. Which I thought was cancelled years ago.
@Cagnazzo82: Comment of the day, hands down.
jwtraveler
@sportyguy1983: You called it exactly right.
I support their right to CHOOSE to live their lives as they see fit. They’re not hurting anyone. But if a large proportion of any society chooses to live this way, it does present a numerical problem: not enough wives for all the men. In some cultures, including some fundamentalist Mormon groups in the U.S., this has led to forced marriage of young girls to adult men and consequent sexual abuse.
The issue if choice is irrelevant. I do not deserve equal rights as a gay person because I was “born this way”. I deserve equal rights because I am a human being in a supposedly free and democratic society who has Constitutional and universal rights to self-determination as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone.
The U.S. and all other democratic countries guarantee freedom of religion despite the fact that no one is born Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, etc. People can and do choose their religion and choose to change their religion, and free societies support and accept that choice.
I do wonder, however, how these Mormon polygamists feel about homosexuality and gay rights, given the traditional Mormon condemnation of homosexuality.
lauraspencer
I have met the Brown family and spent a lot of time with them. They have a healthy and happy family union. I have many gay friends who are partnered. I would argue that the Browns are just as functioning and happy as my gay friends and in many cases the Browns actually have a stronger commitment than most gay couples I know.
Kody has been with Mary, Janelle and Christine for 20+ years and Robyn for 5. They must be doing something right.
Captain Obvious
How the hell is same gender marriage the same as marrying more than one person? These people are morons.
Miss Understood
Wow, lots of judgey queens on here.
If you want people to stay out of your personal life then stay out of theirs. I have no love for religious fanatics but their multiple marriages do not affect me in the least.
Atrius
Consenting adults should be allowed to do whatever the hell they want. If a man or woman wants to marry 3 other people do it.
Angela Haynes
You know what? If they are all consenting adults I think they SHOULD be allowed to get married!
Dennis Knight
I like this family. I think that they should be allowed the same civil rights as anyone else. I’m sure that they don’t understand my gay lifestyle as I don’t understand their lifestyle. I say,”to each their own and love is love!” I know what it’s like to be judged. I would like to meet this family. I believe that deep inside myself that they are nice people and very decent.
Captain Obvious
@Miss Understood: Are you not being a “judgey queen” by telling us what to think because you disagree with our opinions?
We don’t have to stay out of it because they’re comparing their apples to our oranges. They brought us into it, you must have missed that while you were busy judging us without reading.
Avery Alvarez
As has been mentioned a couple times in the comments. Same-sex marriage and polygamy are two different things.
You can’t just throw anything outside of the man-woman marriage into the same category, like b@stard conservative religious people do when they compare same-sex marriage to bestiality, and other abnormalities.
Not that polygamy is an abnormality. For me, I think as long as it’s all consenting adults that have not been coerced into it by freaky deaky religious rules like that side show family the Duggars, then it doesn’t really present a problem.
aliengod
They have the right to get married just like we do. Why should someone else get to decide their morals?
Realitycheck
@aliengod: Translation, lets make the right wing christians conservatives right about their polygamy fears, and lets create an uproar of antigay “we told you so”, how about we let the dust settle for few years until people are used to gay marriages?
And by the way it is not about morals, one has to question how can anyone truly love 5 people at the same time… last i checked love is for two not twenty, even when people cheat they usually loose interest on one of the two partners in favor of the other, and open relationships are not about finding more love interests as much as sex.
GayEGO
One of the problems with polygamy is that many men enslave women and strictly control them with a religious fear to keep these women under their thumbs. In my 73 years as a gay person I have never heard of one gay person forcing another gay person to stay with them. Same-gender marriage does not invite slavery as polygamy does.
Mike
I domt really care, as long as I don’t have to pay for their damn kids, and the spouses all know what they’re getting into, not my business
Larry Dillon
Let em marry
FnameLname
Dad must be exhausted but if it makes them all happy good for them. I know this will never affect my life in any way shape or form, the same way my sexuality does not affect anyone else’s life with the exception of the people I choose to share my life with. Most of the “opponents” to gay marriage (or really just gay existence ) will never be remotely affected because another person is gay and lives his/her life with a member of the same sex. I have to have the same opinion for this matter.
FnameLname
@GayEGO:
GayEGO commented:
“In my 73 years as a gay person I have never heard of one gay person forcing another gay person to stay with them.”
Didn’t you hear what Boy George did to that hustler a few years back? Anyway I get your point, this just came to mind after reading your comment.
Shaun Adams
i dont see a problem with it! if all the the party invalved are for it, then let them do it, why do people that have nothing to do with it care so much about it? mind your own!!
DuMaurier
My feelings are not as strong on this either way as some of my posting brethren here. I just have some thoughts: these relationships exist, legally recognized or not, and just as with same-sex marriage there may be a state interest in having them exist under the rubric of state regulation and oversight (for the kids’ sake, if nothing else). But “gay marriage” involves a spousal relationship just like a “straight marriage”, with the uncomplicated difference of gender; plural marriages put multiple people into an arrangement of benefits, obligations, etc that will cause some difficulties at least. Last point: for those opposed to plural marriages because of the oppressive patriachalism (is that a word?) of the arrangement, any judicial decision, under past precedent, will of course extend recognition on a gender non-biased basis. I don’t know how many women would take advantage of this new “freedom”, but they’d be just as free to marry multiple men (or women) as a male polygamist can.
DuMaurier
Yes, I know that even if that IS a word I misspelled it…..
Finrod
And…? My only objection to polygamy is that it’s usually a way for a man to dominate several women. If it’s truly consensual, who cares?
Shane Patrick Stines
If they all want to be married to that ugly man go on a head
Louis
This family has supported the gay community from the beginning they are not our enemies.
It’s also their lives just as our lives are our lives just as they don’t dictate to me who I can or cannot love I give them the same respect in that regard.
Brian
These sister wives are pathetic. Note how they all have long flowing hair. Long flowing hair is a sign of subservience to men.
Another sign of subservience to men is agreeing to be part of a harem. Go away, silly girls.
Brian
If one man were allowed to be legally married to many men, then these people would have the right to be recognized by the law as being married. However, there is no legal recognition of these sorts of arrangements for either same- or opposite-sex arrangements.
Their legal case is thus baseless.
jwtraveler
@Brian: WOW! Of all the wacky comments on this story, you win!
lauraspencer
@Realitycheck:
Tell that to all the gay married couples that I know that are constantly sleeping around with a variety of guys. So two gay men can get married and f@#K every guy they want, but these 5 people can’t be married?
Makes no sense at all.
lauraspencer
@GayEGO:
If you spent time with the Browns you would know nobody is enslaved. They are all their willingly. Actually, the wives wear the “pants” more than Kody.
jwtraveler
It’s a sad quirk of human nature that people who vehemently demand their own freedom will so readily deny that freedom to others, be they gay men or Christian fundamentalists.
captainburrito
@Brian JC Kneeland: They’re not arguing marriage rights but simply defending their victory whereby they overturned Utah’s law which made cohabiting with more than one spouse a crime.
Bill Ligon
Hmmm Interesting. I happen to see on of these shows and one of his wives asked him (her husband of 4 wives) if she could have another husband………and he said that’s perverted. He’s the damn pervert.
teeohpee
I’m not sure how the two can be compared. Does each wife marry the husband separately or are the wives married to each other as well? If each wife marries the husband separately, the other wives don’t have an equal standing in case one wants a divorce. If they marry as a group, what happens to the group contract if one of the wives wants a divorce, would those that remain have to dissolve the contract and remarry again? There are too many of these legal questions for this to ever happen.
JessPH
Did you folks even read the article? They’re not asking for the government to recognize their union. They’re merely asking the government to decriminalize their polygamous relationship.
CivicMinded
All of the cases I’ve heard about is one man marrying several women. What if it were reversed? What if one woman wanted to marry several men? Would peoples attitudes be different? Personally I feel that everybody should have one of their own before anybody gets a second one. I also feel that way with homes. No one should get a second home until everybody has a first home. So until I get a spouse nobody else gets a second spouse.
NateOcean
Does he pay extra for anal? Or is one sister-wife designated?
jwtraveler
@CivicMinded: If a few of these polygamists marry a bunch of wives, that leaves more lonely men for you and me. Sounds like a win-win.
Chicago
“Love is love…unless I find it gross”
-Homophobes and Gay hypocrites.
liquidskyny
Wow look at all the judgey queens…I wonder if they would actually have the “guts” to confront their friends, etc. that have open marriages which well can be very similiar to the polygamists with multiple partners. …hmmm, me thinks not unless they are hiding behind their keyboards and bitter they’re alone.
cid
@Jack Walter: I couldn’t imagine what would happen at tax time.