The Brown family of the hit reality show, "Sister Wives," has lost their battle against Utah's bigamy law. Kody Brown has been appealing to decriminalize polygamy in the state for years now, but the state senate finally ended the battle favoring the Utah government. Meanwhile, "Sister Wives" season 9 remains to be up in the air as TLC has not yet renewed the reality show.
While the world continues to speculate the relationships of Kody Brown with his sister wives, the family is facing a more difficult situation as they have recently lost a lawsuit against Utah's bigamy law. The bill HB99, which asks to expand the state's bigamy law, has passed the state senate in a 15-14 votation at 11:55 p.m. last Thursday, March 9.
Utah state representative and republican, Mike Noel, has proposed to change the wording of the state's anti-bigamy law to prevent potential suitcases similar to what the Browns have been filing. The bill now adds penalties for abusive plural marriages as well as fraud and human trafficking. It also states that a person will be held guilty of bigamy if he or she is found out to be living with a legal spouse and purported partners.
The bill HB99 announces the crime to be a second-degree felony instead of the initial third-degree category. Polygamists of the state believe that the act is a "huge step backward" for them. Meri Brown expressed her concern about families who are affected by the renewed bill. "My concern is all this is going to do is drive the good polygamous people who don't have those abuses more into hiding, and it's going to make the people who do have those abuses just be able to do them even more," Meri told the Salt Lake Tribune as cited by Inquisitr.
Kody Brown and his Sister Wives first challenged Utah in 2011, claiming that the bigamy law of the state was unconstitutional. They won in 2013 until the decision was overturned by an appeals court in 2016. The Browns have again filed another case earlier this year, but their plea has been declined. The state of Utah though promises to deal with the families who are guilty of abuses.
Meanwhile, Kody Brown and his four wives continue to face countless issues about their relationships. Meri has recently been rumored to have already left the family, but they have not confirmed rumors are true. TLC remains undecided about the future of "Sister Wives", as it has not yet renewed the show, neither has it announced its cancellation. Fans then will have to extend their patience until the network releases its official announcement about "Sister Wives" season 9.
