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“I think the concern of the judge is the desire to protect children substantively — so if they are prosecuted, and go to jail, the law would harm the child rather than help,” said Monique Pongracic-Speier, a lawyer representing the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, a group that wants section 293 declared unconstitutional.

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Rather, she said, the judge is suggesting that the adult in the relationship be prosecuted but not any minors involved in the illegal relationships..

However, she felt that by even prosecuting the adults, that would harm the offspring of these polygamous relationships.

The B.C. Civil Liberties believes that the law is unconstitution because it violates an individual’s right to liberty and privacy.

Bountiful residents follow the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or FLDS. Polygamy is practised as a tenet of the faith but the mainstream Mormon church renounced multiple marriages more than 100 years ago.

A judge stayed the charges after concluding the selective way the province chose the prosecutors violated the men’s rights, prompting the government to launch a constitutional reference case.

During the case, the governments of Canada and B.C. presented evidence of polygamy’s harms, arguing that the practice puts women and children at risk, thereby justifying limiting religious freedom as well as freedoms of association and expression.

The government positions were supported by anti-polygamy activists, advocates for women’s and children’s rights and the Christian Legal Fellowship.