UTAH MARRIAGE AMENDMENT HURTS WOMEN WHO WANT TO FLEE POLYGAMY: Paul Rolly

One unintended consequence of the voter-approved Amendment 3 to the Utah Constitution may be the boon it could provide to the illegal practice of polygamy by discouraging unhappy plural wives from bolting.

Tapestry Against Polygamy, a group that helps women who want to leave polygamist relationships, warned about that potential side effect before the amendment was approved by voters. But the warning went unheeded.

Vickie Prunty, Tapestry's executive director, said before the election that Amendment 3 could deprive women of an opportunity to claim property rights and financial compensation from the polygamist husbands they want to leave.

The amendment, which passed with more than a two-thirds majority, defines marriage as solely between a man and a woman. The second part of the amendment, which has raised concerns among Tapestry and others, including the Utah Attorney General's Office, says, "No other domestic union, however denominated, may be recognized as a marriage or given the same or substantially equivalent legal effect."

That, says Prunty, could either force women to stay in polygamy for economic reasons, or drive more of them, as well as other women in domestic partnerships not blessed with a marriage certificate, onto welfare rolls.

"When there is a divorce with a legal wife, or a departure of a non-legal wife, they both need to be recognized by the courts to obtain an equitable portion of the commingled property," said Tapestry co-founder Rowenna Erickson. "When polygamists are forced to share their assets with former wives, more polygamist fathers will be held accountable and less taxes will be spent on an already exhausted welfare system."

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posted by Eve at 4:37 PM | link

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