SCOTUS declines to review Sister Wives case

SCOTUS to Kody Brown ​and Sister Wives:
Your polygamous marriage ain’t no marriage

​Today the Supreme Court of the United States declined to indulge Kody Brown in whining about the illegal status of polygamous marriage. (You can read about it in The Salt Lake Tribune by clicking here.)

It’s just as well. 

SCOTUS says NO.

At the “Least of our Worries” end of the spectrum

​Deeming multiple spouses legally married would create nightmares in sorting out things like healthcare benefits, social security distribution, legal access, divorce proceedings, liability, custody, inheritance, and more. ​

At the “Most of Our Worries” end

Polygamy, especially religious polygamy, is not a simple matter of allowing consenting adults do as they please. People raised in religious polygamist cults are not so much consenting adults as brainwashed and intimidated adults. It follows that children raised in religious polygamist cults are de facto abuse victims, even if no one lays a hand on them during their years of minority. Given cults’ adeptness at hiding abuse from authorities, that’s a big If.

We stop short of recommending prosecution of polygamy for its own sake. But to give polygamy legal sanction would be to further remove potential abuse from scrutiny. That would be tragic.