Utah took a major legislative step toward decriminalizing polygamy in the state.
The Utah state Senate voted unanimously on Tuesday to decriminalize polygamy between consenting adults, reducing penalties for the offense in the predominantly Mormon state.
Utah Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers emphasized to local reporters that the legislation would not legalize the act, asserting that “bad actors are still going to be penalized.” He argued that the legislation would encourage victims of the crime to come forward.
“In these isolated, insular communities, that’s where a lot of the problems can really escalate,” state Sen. Deidre Henderson said, “and that’s where the bad people can really, and have, weaponized the law in order to keep their victims silent and isolated in their control.”
The measure, which passed 29-0, would limit maximum penalties to either a $750 fine or community service. Presently, violators are guilty of a third-degree felony and punished with up to five years in prison. Opponents of the bill have accused the state legislature of “weaponizing God.”
“Proponents of this bill attempt to piggyback on the success of the gay rights movement by promoting the narrative that this initiative is about consenting adults doing what they will,” said anti-polygamy group Sound Choices Coalition in a statement. “This has nothing to do about consenting adults or gay rights. It’s all about weaponizing God.”
