Almost exactly one year ago, Judge Robert Bauman began hearing evidence in the case to decide if the federal law against polygamy was constitutional or not.
The judge has positioned this opinion, along with the federal AG, to fail in future court cases. He has set it up so charges can be laid against SOME polygamists in BC. Some will be charged. Then the polygamists will defend themselves based on discrimination due to religion. They will win. The judge has opined that married people can have common law "identical to marriage" spouses as additional to their marriages. Married persons do not need to divorce before being eligible to take a new "spouse" under the protection (from prosecution) of his ruling, backed by BC's new family law act. The new spouses and the polygamist(s)can also live under the same roof. Married people with common law spouses too have identical marital rights and obligations to civil marriage and are called spouses. It surely is discrimination to disallow multiple spouses because of flds or muslim "religious" ceremonies.
The judge opines that harms to women and children do not occur unless there is a ceremony? Balderdash. The identical harms would occur from allowing married persons to have common law spouses. The judge knows this and knows that the polygamists will win the day because they are being discriminated against solely based on religion.
The judge has positioned this opinion, along with the federal AG, to fail in future court cases. He has set it up so charges can be laid against SOME polygamists in BC. Some will be charged. Then the polygamists will defend themselves based on discrimination due to religion. They will win. The judge has opined that married people can have common law "identical to marriage" spouses as additional to their marriages. Married persons do not need to divorce before being eligible to take a new "spouse" under the protection (from prosecution) of his ruling, backed by BC's new family law act. The new spouses and the polygamist(s)can also live under the same roof. Married people with common law spouses too have identical marital rights and obligations to civil marriage and are called spouses. It surely is discrimination to disallow multiple spouses because of flds or muslim "religious" ceremonies.
ReplyDeleteThe judge opines that harms to women and children do not occur unless there is a ceremony? Balderdash. The identical harms would occur from allowing married persons to have common law spouses. The judge knows this and knows that the polygamists will win the day because they are being discriminated against solely based on religion.