'Sister Wives' Updates: Kody Brown Caused Stricter Bigamy Law; Fights for Plural Family Rights

Kody Brown of the reality show “Sister Wives” challenged and for a time won a lawsuit against the state of Utah’s bigamy law. In return, their victory spurred a new bigamy bill that he and his wives are now decrying. Meri Brown, one of Kody’s wives, said that it may be time for polygamists to think about moving out of Utah.

According to Meri Brown, all the new law will do is to drive good people who practice polygamy into hiding. The “Sister Wives” star says that these are people who haven’t committed abuses and those who are abusive will be able to do it even more with the law’s passage. She added that the bill won’t do much in preventing bigamy in Utah.

Meanwhile, Kody Brown laments that polygamists will now be classified as second-class citizens because of the bill. He is legally married to Robyn and at same time spiritually married to Meri, Janelle and Christine Brown. After the premiere of “Sister Wives” in 2010, the family moved to Nevada to avoid prosecution in Utah.

Kody Brown then filed a lawsuit which alleged that Utah’s bigamy statute was unconstitutional. CNN reported that the suit went in their favor in December 2013 but the decision was overturned by a Court of Appeals last year. It stated that the Browns lacked standing since they were never persecuted. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear another appeal.

Rep. Mike Noel used the federal judge’s analysis as basis to sponsor HB99. It widens the definition of spouse to a purported spouse living at home with a married couple according to Mail Online. The bill will also increase the penalty for committing bigamy in some circumstances. Noel cited the Kody Brown’s lawsuit multiple times and he said that the bill will make bigamy in compliance with the Utah Constitution.

Last week, the Utah Legislature passed HB99. Kody Brown said that he has no regrets about filing the lawsuit. Even if the attorney general’s office said that polygamy is inherently harmful to women and children in their argument, the bigamy statute was never used against the Browns. The “Sister Wives” patriarch said that HB99 would make law abiding polygamists like him open to prosecution.

It is interesting to watch how the new legislation will affect Kody Brown and his four wives. TLC seems to be undecided about renewing “Sister Wives” for another season. The good news is that there have been no cancellation announcement either. All the fans have to do is wait for the official announcement about Season 9 of the reality series.