SALT LAKE CITY — A bill that reduces bigamy among consenting adults to an infraction has passed the Utah State Senate with a unanimous vote.
Senate Bill 102 would reduce bigamy to be on par with a traffic ticket, but would continue to enhance penalties for bigamy in concert with other crimes like abuse, fraud or child-bride marriages.
On the Senate floor, Sen. Deidre Henderson, R-Spanish Fork, said it does not legalize polygamy as some have claimed. Nor are they legalizing any abusive behavior. Lawmakers said they had been inundated with emails claiming otherwise.
"This does not legalize any of those bad activities at all. Those are already illegal and will remain illegal," she told her Senate colleagues.
The bill now goes to the House for consideration. Over the weekend, a pro-polygamy group urged its members to lobby the House in support of the bill.
