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Utah senate unanimously moves to decriminalize polygamy
Sponsor says bill would help otherwise law-abiding polygamists gain access to critical services, but critics say polygamy is harmful

Reuters
Tue 18 Feb 2020 20.07 EST
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The Utah state senate voted unanimously on Tuesday to effectively decriminalize polygamy among consenting adults, reducing penalties for a practice with deep religious roots in the predominantly Mormon state.

The bill, which would treat the offense of plural marriage as a simple infraction on par with a parking ticket, now moves to the Utah house of representatives, where it is likely to face greater resistance.

The bill swiftly cleared the Republican-controlled senate on a vote of 29-0 with little discussion.


Under current law, polygamy – typically involving a man who cohabits with and purports to marry more than one wife – is classified as a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.

If the senate bill becomes law, punishments for plural marriage would be limited to fines of up to $750 and community service.
https://amp.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/18/utah-senate-decriminalize-polygamy-bill#referrer=https://www.google.com

“Proponents of this bill attempt to piggyback on the success of the gay rights movement by promoting the narrative that this initiative is about consenting adults doing what they will,” the anti-polygamy group Sound Choices Coalition said in a statement. “This has nothing to do about consenting adults or gay rights. It’s all about weaponizing God.”

Critics, however, say the measure wrongly frames polygamy as a human rights issue.

budaatum:
I'm delighted its Republican led Utah promoting polygamy. It would be evil only if it were liberal Democrats proposing it!

J111333:
That's the right thing to do since most of the residents are Mormons.