Here Come the Polygamists: Jonathan Turley Defends 'Sister Wives' in Utah

The US Supreme Court upheld Utah's prohibition on polygamy in the 1878 Reynolds v United States decision

Once the definition of marriage becomes malleable, definable at will by those who choose to use the word, it really is only a matter of time. Jonathan Turley denies he intends to defend polygamy as a form of "marriage". He says he will simply argue that the State should not interfere with the private and consensual sexual behavior of the polygamists and must respect their religious beliefs. Doesn't that sound familiar?

P>SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (Catholic Online) - Jonathan Turley is the J.B. and Maurice Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington Law School in Washington, DC. He has catapulted to National recognition as a "talking head", a kind of legal "go to" guy for a media obsessed with lawyers, litigation and celebrity.

It seems he has an opinion about anything even remotely legal these days - and no lack of media bully pulpits from which he can opine about his views. In addition to the mainstream media, he also has a blog on which he announced the following on Tuesday, July 12, 2011:

"I will be traveling to Salt Lake City today to file (on Wednesday) a challenge to the Utah statute criminalizing bigamy and cohabitation. The lawsuit will be filed on behalf of my clients, the Brown family. The Browns are featured in the TLC program Sister Wives as an openly polygamous family. The lawsuit will be filed in federal court in Salt Lake City on Wednesday and we will be available for questions at 1 p.m. outside of the courthouse. The Plaintiffs are Kody Brown, Christine Brown, Janelle Brown, Meri Brown, and Robyn Sullivan.

"As in past cases, I will have to be circumspect in what I say after the filing of this action. However, we are honored to represent the Brown family in this historic challenge," said Professor Turley. "We believe that this case represents the strongest factual and legal basis for a challenge to the criminalization of polygamy ever filed in the federal courts. We are not demanding the recognition of polygamous marriage. We are only challenging the right of the state to prosecute people for their private relations and demanding equal treatment with other citizens in living their lives according to their own beliefs.

"This action seeks to protect one of the defining principles of this country, what Justice Louis Brandeis called 'the right to be left alone.' In that sense, it is a challenge designed to benefit not just polygamists but all citizens who wish to live their lives according to their own values - even if those values run counter to those of the majority in the state".

Turley also included this statement from one of his clients, Kody Brown:

"There are tens of thousands of plural families in Utah and other states. We are one of those families. We only wish to live our private lives according to our beliefs. While we understand that this may be a long struggle in court, it has already been a long struggle for my family and other plural families to end the stereotypes and unfair treatment given consensual polygamy. We are indebted to Professor Turley and his team for their work and dedication. Together we hope to secure equal treatment with other families in the United States."

Turley will be arguing along lines which the lawyers representing the Homosexual Equivalency movement insisted would never happen. They claimed that to assert otherwise was a logical fallacy, a "parade of horribles" argument, and an indicator one was afflicted with new malady they accuse anyone who opposes them with, "homophobia". One of their more vocal bloggers called the lawsuit a "political gift to anti-gay groups nationwide."

However, once the definition of marriage becomes malleable, definable at will by those who choose to use the word, it really is only a matter of time. Jonathan Turley denies he intends to defend polygamy as a form of "marriage". He says he will simply argue that the State should not interfere with the private and consensual sexual behavior of the polygamists and must respect their religious beliefs. Doesn't that sound familiar?

Turley will apparently use the "reasoning" of the 2003 US Supreme Court holding in Lawrence v Texas which decriminalized sodomy and opened the door to such arguments. However, even the New York Times reads the tea leaves. In a July 11, 2012 article by John Schwartz entitled "Polygamist, Under Scrutiny in Utah, Plans Suit to Challenge Law" we read:

"The connection with Lawrence v. Texas, a case that broadened legal rights for gay people, is sensitive for those who have sought the right of same-sex marriage. Opponents of such unions often refer to polygamy as one of the all-but-inevitable outcomes of allowing same-sex marriage. In his dissenting opinion in the Lawrence case, Justice Antonin Scalia cited a threat to state laws "based on moral choices" against "bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery, fornication, bestiality and obscenity."

"The head of the Roman Catholic Church in New York, Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, made a similar comparison on his blog on Thursday in an essay criticizing the state's legalization of same-sex marriage and the possible "next step," which could be "another redefinition to justify multiple partners and infidelity."

I recently reported on that insightful essay by Archbishop Dolan In it he asked us to "remember how the Church sounded the alarm over rising rates of promiscuity, adultery, pre-marital sex, and cohabitation prior to or instead of marriage.  And now we ring the steeple bell again at this latest dilution of the authentic understanding of marriage, worried that the next step will be another redefinition to justify multiple partners and infidelity." 

"If you think I'm exaggerating, within days of the passage of this bill, one major newspaper ran a flattering profile of a proponent of what was called "nonmonogamy." Apparently, "nonmonogamy" is the idea that society is unrealistic to think that one man and one woman should remain faithful in marriage, and that openness to some infidelity should be the norm!"

The US Supreme Court upheld Utah's prohibition on polygamy in the 1878 Reynolds v United States decision. Overturning that decision is the real goal of this case. Turley's clients are Kody Brown and his four wives. They are known for their reality Television show on the Learning Channel entitled "Sister Wives." They have been under investigation by Utah authorities since the show began.

The Lawsuit will engender substantial interest due to the controversial subject matter, the issues involved, and the notoriety of the parties in the media. Clearly, Jonathan Turley has secured his place in the pundit class for a good long time as a Nation which has lost its moral compass continues a downhill spiral.

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