Search results
Results from the Tech24 Deals Content Network
Legality of polygamy in the United States. Polygamy was outlawed in federal territories by the Edmunds Act, and there are laws against the practice in all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, [ 1] and Puerto Rico. [ 2] Because state laws exist, polygamy is not actively prosecuted at the federal level.
Polygamy is defined as the practice or condition of one person having more than one spouse at the same time, conventionally referring to a situation where all spouses know about each other, in contrast to bigamy, where two or more spouses are usually unaware of each other. [ 3] Polyandry is the name of the practice or condition when one female ...
United States: Polygamy is illegal in all 50 states, [98] De facto polygamy is illegal under federal law, the Edmunds Act. Utah, in February 2020, reduced polygamy to the status of a traffic ticket; [ 99 ] [ 100 ] nevertheless recognizing that polygamous unions are illegal under the Constitution of Utah . [ 101 ]
United States declared that polygamy was not protected by the Constitution, based on the longstanding legal principle that "laws are made for the government of actions, and while they cannot interfere with mere religious belief and opinions, they may with practices." [118]
Polygamy was probably a significant factor in the Utah War of 1857 and 1858, given Republican attempts to paint Democratic president James Buchanan as weak in his opposition to both polygamy and slavery. In 1862, the United States Congress passed the Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act, which prohibited polygamous marriage in the territories. [3]
United States, 326 U.S. 455 (1946) — underaged polygamous marriage with consent not prosecutable under the Federal Kidnapping Act. Cleveland v. United States, 329 U.S. 14 (1946) — polygamous marriage an "immoral purpose" under the Mann Act. Musser v. Utah, 333 U.S. 95 (1948) — polygamy not religious free speech.
United States appeal reached the United States Supreme Court, and in January 1879 that body ruled the anti-polygamy legislation constitutional and upheld Reynolds's prison sentence (it struck down the fine and hard labor portions). Reynolds was released from prison in January 1881, having served eighteen months of his original sentence. [9]
Buhman, No. 14-4117 (10th Cir. 2016), is a legal case in the United States federal courts challenging the State of Utah 's criminal polygamy law. The action was filed in 2011 by polygamist Kody Brown along with his wives Meri Brown, Janelle Brown, Christine Brown, and Robyn Sullivan. The Brown family belongs to the Apostolic United Brethren faith.