Governor speaks against polygamy

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah 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, the state’s governor said Thursday.

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.

The ruling, in favor of the TLC reality TV stars Kody Brown and his four wives, decided that the law forbidding cohabitation violates their right to religious freedom.

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes’ office said in a statement Wednesday that attorneys are reviewing the ruling and expect to make a decision on an appeal in the coming weeks.

The Brown family’s attorney, Jonathan Turley, said the state has 30 days to submit a notice of appeal in the case.

The practice of polygamy is a legacy of the early teachings of the Mormon church. The mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints abandoned polygamy in 1890 as Utah moved toward statehood. Today it strictly prohibits the practice.

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