Canada Man Charged With Polygamy to Use Gay Marriage Defense

[Elduardo]

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The lawyer for a British Columbia man charged with having 20 wives says he'll use the same-sex marriage law as a defense.

The lawyer, Blair Suffredine, says gays can marry in Canada, so why can't a man have more than one wife. The lawyer says standards have changed.

He's representing 52-year-old Winson Blackmore, leader of a polygamous group in Bountiful, in southeastern British Columbia.

He appeared in court briefly yesterday in Creston and the case was continued to Feb. 18.

Another man from a rival polygamous group in Bountiful, James Oler, also appeared in court, charged with marrying two women. Oler is a follower of Warren Jeffs and a bishop in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.


Part of the opposition to gay marriage was that it would have all sorts of unintended consequences and would weaken the definition of marriage overall. Will be interesting to see how this plays out in Canada and may be a preview of things to come in the US.

[Misfit]

:dsp: dead breed

[Luris Blear]

See, again, this has nothing to do with two consenting adults.

This strikes me as both a cop-out and a cheap stunt. If Oler and Blackmore want to benefit from gay marriage laws then let them marry each other.

[levil666]

This strikes me as both a cop-out and a cheap stunt. If Oler and Blackmore want to benefit from gay marriage laws then let them marry each other.

True poetry. Can't top that one Luris. :bigthumbup:

[Grendel]

See, again, this has nothing to do with two consenting adults.

This strikes me as both a cop-out and a cheap stunt. If Oler and Blackmore want to benefit from gay marriage laws then let them marry each other.Precisely.

If they want to challenge to entangle themselves in such an arrangement, let them; it's still no legitimate argument against same-sex marriage.