| Forget the gays. Let's stick up for Plural Marriage! |
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| Written by Bryan R. Wells |
| Thursday, 14 July 2011 10:50 |
 Reality Show stars could spark some very real change to the stigma of plural marriage. A new lawsuit filed in a Utah should be of interest to us due to its far reaching implications. A polygamous family featured on TLC's show "Sister Wives" has filed a federal challenge to Utah's bigamy law that makes their lifestyle illegal. The show features the Brown family as devout followers of a fundamentalist Christian group who openly practice polygamy. Kody Brown of Lehi, Utah is legally married to wife Meri and spiritually married to three other women: Christine, Janelle and Robyn. According to the AP, the lawsuit "asks a federal judge to declare Utah's bigamy statute, unconstitutional. Under the law, it is illegal for unmarried persons to cohabitate, or "purport" to be married. The third-degree felony is punishable by up to five years in state prison. Both men and women can be prosecuted under the law, which also applies to unmarried, monogamous couples that live together." Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University believes that this particular lawsuit represents the strongest challenge to the criminality of polygamy ever filed in federal court. The main argument is that the current Utah laws are unconstitutional as they violate several rights, such as freedom of religion, expression, and right to privacy. Kody Brown released a statement regarding the lawsuit on Turley's blog saying in part the following: "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." Also saying that this was a small part of a long struggle "to end the stereotypes and unfair treatment given consensual polygamy." Why should this raise our eyebrows as well? Of the thousands of plural marriages all over the United States a good portion of them happen to be Muslim families. It's no secret that every aspect of our religion is now under attack; "Shariah" being the new boogeyman buzzword. But as of late Right wing Christian groups have not only put gay marriage in their cross hairs, but plural marriage as well. (that happens to be allowed under "Shariah" law) The recent infamous 'marriage vow pledge' released by the Family Leader asks conservative presidential candidates to sign on (or kow tow) and vow to reject " Sharia Islam and all other anti-woman, anti-human rights forms of totalitarian control." The pledge also ask them to "vigorously oppose the redefinition of the Institution of Marriage" that would seek to validate "bigamous, same sex or polygamous unions". We Muslims should use this time of great political advocacy for gay marriage to advance our own cause. It is a shame to think that soon a marriage between two dudes will be looked upon with more respect than the marriage of prophet Abraham and his two wives Hagar and Sarah (peace be upon him and his family). If New York conservatives can have a change of heart and vote to recognize gay marriage, then why not plural marriage? It's my belief that we should support this lawsuit aggressively and call for ones similar to it in other states. Just as the Muslims cheered the victory of the Romans over the Persians in the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him), we should cheer a victory here. We've got a pony in this race. |
| Last Updated on Friday, 15 July 2011 00:07 |
