In one sense, the decision was almost inevitable, given the trajectory of both the culture and the federal courts. On the other hand, the sheer shock of the decision serves as an alarm: marriage is being utterly redefined before our eyes, and in the span of a single generation.<\/p>\n
Judge Waddoups ruled that Utah\u2019s law against consensual adult cohabitation among multiple partners violated the Constitution\u2019s free exercise clause, but a main point was that opposition to polygamy did not advance a compelling state interest. In the background to that judgment was the argument asserted by Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy to the effect that the only real opposition to any form of consensual sexual arrangement among adults would be religiously based, and thus unconstitutional.<\/p>\n
Kennedy made that assertion in his majority opinion in the 2003 case of Lawrence v. Texas that struck down all state laws criminalizing homosexual behavior\u201d\u201dand the Lawrence decision looms large over Judge Waddoups\u2019s entire decision.<\/p>\n