US state’s lawyers defending anti-polygamy law on appeal say it prevents abuse

SALT LAKE CITY – State attorneys defending Utah’s anti-polygamy law say it should stay on the books because it helps prevent abuse of women and children.

The Utah Attorney General’s Office laid out the argument in new court documents appealing a ruling in favour of reality show star Kody Brown that struck down key parts of the law.

An attorney for Brown and his four wives contends their TV show “Sister Wives” is evidence that polygamous unions aren’t necessarily abusive.

The state’s appeal comes after a federal judge ruled in December 2013 that a provision of the Utah law forbidding cohabitation violated the polygamous family’s freedom of religion.

Advocacy groups for polygamy and individual liberties hailed it as a landmark decision that removed the threat of arrest for Utah’s plural families.