Prophets of Doom Partially Vindicated

As the Gay Rights Movement continued to recieve victories in the "Culture Wars" several Social Conservatives warned that by legalizing things like sodomy and gay marriage other sexual acts and lifestyles deemed unacceptible would also eventually be legalized. This claim has been denounced by many from the left and center of the political spectrum as being "homophobic", yet as the American Civil Liberties Union shows the claim is actually not far from the truth. Below are portions of a press release by the ACLU chapter of Utah, with the link to the full press release at the end:

"In hopes of vanquishing what they consider a 64-year-old injustice, a small but vocal group of polygamous wives and their supporters demonstrated in front of The Salt Lake Tribune, the paper reported today. The Women's Religious Liberties Union, established in 1998, gathered to protest newspaper and television depictions they say paint all polygamists as incestuous, misogynous and abusive to women and children."

"They are not alone. The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah told the paper that it plans to back the group's challenge to Utah's bigamy law."

"'Living arrangements are really the most intimate kinds of decisions people make,' said ACLU of Utah Legal Director Stephen Clark. 'Talking to Utah's polygamists is like talking to gays and lesbians who really want the right to live their lives, and not live in fear because of whom they love. So certainly that kind of privacy expectation is something the ACLU is committed to protecting.'"

"'We believe you can't discriminate against us because of our life choices,' Smith said. 'What we want is very simple -- eliminate the cohabitation clause of the bigamy law.'"

"'The bigamy statute, like sodomy statutes (/issues/gay/sodomy.html) and like other anachronistic moralistic legislation, goes to the core of what the Supreme Court identifies as important fundamental privacy rights,' Clark told the paper."

"'Let's be proud of our heritage,' Sidney Anderson, a plural wife and member of WRLU told the crowd at the rally. 'You don't have to live polygamy, but please respect my freedom to practice my religion.'"

Complete press release:

ACLU of Utah to Join Polygamists in Bigamy Fight