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New group seeks to keep polygamy a criminal offense

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It's been a number of years since Tapestry Against Polygamy was the lone voice against the ever-rising power of polygamy in Utah, but now a new coalition has appeared that's determined to stop the possibility of plural marriage becoming decriminalized.---

Sound Choices Coalition, led by former plural wife Kristyn Decker, put out a press release Tuesday "urging the state of Utah not to decriminalize polygamy in response to the lawsuit by the Kody Brown family." The group seeks to end human-rights violations caused by polygamy.

The Browns, stars of the reality TV show Sister Wives, will be heard by Judge Clark Waddoups on Thursday afternoon regarding the issue of whether Utah's statute rendering polygamy a crime is unconstitutional.

In a statement released by the Browns' lawyer last week, Johnathan Turley stated, "The [Browns] are not seeking public approval of their beliefs or state recognition of their plural relationship. They are asking for what all other citizens of Utah take for granted: the right to maintain their own family and faith without threat of prosecution." 

Sound Choices argues that "Patriarchal polygamy violates human rights by placing women in religious bondage," Decker states in the press release. If Utah were to decriminalize polygamy—something that pro-polygamy advocates have sought for years—then, Sound Choices argues, the state will become a haven for polygamous families from across the country. 

Sound Choices are asking those sympathetic to their  cause to meet with them Thursday at 3 p.m. in front of the federal courthouse at 350 Main in Salt Lake City.

Christine Marie Katas is a member of the coalition and founder of Voices for Dignity.In a funny blog about her and her plural husbands, she explores some of the absurdities, as she sees it, of the polygamous experience. You can read it here

She wrote a petition that the group is seeking signatures for "against the legalization of the subjugation of women in polygamy." You can find the petition here.

Vicky Prunty, the founder of Tapestry, who currently resides in California, is also expected to join the coalition on Thursday in a show of solidarity.


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