Legal Opinion: Same-Sex Marriage Could Lead to Polygamy

It’s what many marriage supporters have been trying to point out for months: The redefinition of the institution could pave the path to legalized polygamy.

North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem filed a legal opinion Thursday basically saying that a man who married another man in another state, may obtain a marriage license — with a woman — in North Dakota. That’s because same-sex marriage is not recognized in North Dakota.

So, in this situation, according to the attorney general, the man could have two marriage licenses.

“The legal opinion’s uncanny timing pairs it in headlines with the easing of polygamy laws in Utah,” said Breibart columnist Frances Martel. It also “provides a stark contrast between what self-proclaimed polygamists want from their government and what the individual wishing to marry in this case does.”

A federal judge on Friday struck down part of a Utah law making polygamy illegal. The family of Kody Brown — made famous by the TLC show “Sister Wives” — filed suit in 2011. In his opinion, U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups said the part of the law making cohabitation illegal violates the Constitution.

It only gets more confusing from there:

“The ‘Sister Wives’ family that won the Utah suit only have one marriage license among them, and do not wish to receive any more,” Martel said. “The man in the North Dakota case wants two marriage licenses, and the right to proclaim himself single on legal documents until he receives his second.”

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down part of the federal law defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The Court struck down Section 3 of the law, meaning the federal government cannot define marriage for its own federal policies and federal laws, but must accept whatever states decide. The ruling did not affect Section 2, which says that no state is required to recognize another state’s redefinition of the institution.

Thus, Stenehjem’s claim that a man married to a man may marry a woman in North Dakota.

This case creates a “bigger problem” than even the Utah case, according to Martel.

“The parties in the case want further government involvement in their lives — not to get the government out of their lives,” she said. “This forces state governments to turn on each other.”  CitizenLink