Polygamy and Free Association

Marriage has long had a significant economic aspect to it, and states know this, which is why they have fought so long and hard to regulate and control it. Families, of course, are a basic part of any economy, and historically, they form one of the foundational building blocks of a society’s economy. Consequently, it’s not surprising at all that the American federal government has involved itself in marriage-related matters that are seemingly local in nature. The matter of same-sex unions has certainly been a national issue for some time, and the federal courts have weighed in repeatedly. Now comes the issue of polygamy. A federal judge in Utah has recently struck down portions of a Utah law that not only banned polygamy, but criminalized it, making polygamy a felony, complete with possible prison sentences. The judge noted that the state does not prosecute people who live in groups in a fashion that could be described as polygamous, but that it does prosecute people in identical situations if a government marriage license is involved. For the judge, this indicated that no consistent government interest exists in regulating what we might call “licensed” polygamy when “free-market” polygamy goes unregulated. The ruling does not allow for multiple marriage licenses being issues to a single person, but it does strike down the State of Utah’s statute making polygamy a criminal offense. http://www.ibtimes.com/utah-polygamy-law-partially-struck-down-federal-judge-following-sister-wives-lawsuit-1671822 Many Americans are unaware of how marriage was a major federal issue during the 19th century. While unregulated in the east, for the most part, the federal government took it up itself to directly regulate marriage in the western regions Ppolygamy isn’t just a minor offense in Utah. It’s a felony. That is, it was a felony until the court struck down the statute criminalizing polygamy.   We might also note that the anti-polygamy law was just another disincentive to avail one’sself of a government marriage license. It simply flagged someone as open to government prosecution. The judge also concl;uded that the anti-polygamy statute violated the freedom of religion of those involved, which is just the latest example of how limited freedom has become overall, in that one needs to appeal to a narrow “freedom of religion” argument to engage in what should be considered basic freedom of association between consenting parties.