Will British Columbia legalize polygamy despite proven harms to women, children, society?

ADF attorneys available for media interviews regarding hearing at British Columbia Supreme Court

Friday, Dec 10, 2010

WHO: Alliance Defense Fund attorneys
WHAT: Hearing on Constitutional Reference on Polygamy
WHERE: Supreme Court of British Columbia
WHEN: Ongoing through Jan. 12, 2011

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Alliance Defense Fund attorneys are available for media interviews via phone or satellite regarding the ongoing hearing at the Supreme Court of British Columbia on the question of whether polygamy can continue to be prohibited in that province and throughout Canada. An ADF-allied attorney examined an expert witness before the court this week as part of the multi-week hearing.

“No government should experiment with a practice that has been clearly demonstrated as harmful to women, children, and societies around the world,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Austin R. Nimocks. “Some organizations like to say it’s an exaggeration that same-sex ‘marriage’ will open the door to polygamy.  It’s no exaggeration at all.  The question is being debated right now in British Columbia, and all Americans should take notice.”

Gerald Chipeur, one of more than 1,800 attorneys in the ADF alliance, examined Dr. Shoshana Grossbard before the court Tuesday. Christian Legal Fellowship, which was allowed by the court to intervene in the proceedings, presented Grossbard to the court as its witness because of her extensive research on the cross-cultural effects polygamy has on women and society.

Grossbard is one of two CLF experts whose findings have been submitted to the court and only one of many witnesses who will be examined throughout the proceedings, known as the Constitutional Reference on Polygamy. The reference, brought by the attorney general of British Columbia, asks the court to determine if Parliament may prohibit polygamy and at the same time uphold the Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ guarantee of religious freedom.

ADF is a legal alliance of Christian attorneys and like-minded organizations defending the right of people to freely live out their faith. Launched in 1994, ADF employs a unique combination of strategy, training, funding, and litigation to protect and preserve religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage, and the family.
 

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