By Zack Beauchamp
Law professor Jonathan Turley is suing on behalf of reality show polygamists to declare enforcement of anti-polygamy laws unconstitutional. Seriously:
The lawsuit is not demanding that states recognize polygamous marriage. Instead, the lawsuit builds on a 2003 United States Supreme Court decision, Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down state sodomy laws as unconstitutional intrusions on the “intimate conduct” of consenting adults. It will ask the federal courts to tell states that they cannot punish polygamists for their own “intimate conduct” so long as they are not breaking other laws, like those regarding child abuse, incest or seeking multiple marriage licenses.
Turley's statement here. Since Andrew's not here to comment (sorry y'all), here's a post from him on this issue a few years back:
If polygamy and sexual orientation are interchangeable in human identity and psychology, there is no slippery slope. You're already there. Once you've allowed heterosexuals to have legal marriage, and you see no distinction between sexual orientation and polygamy, there's no logical reason to prevent polygamy. And it's straight people – and mainly straight men – who are the prime movers behind polygamy as an ideal anyway.
For the record, I agree with his conclusion to the point of thinking it ought to be obvious. There's nothing about either marriage equality or other demands for gay equality that necessarily implies polygamy bans are illegitimate.
The Dish 