The British Columbia Supreme Court found two men guilty for violating Canada’s polygamy laws. Both men identify as members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and believe that their polygamous marriages were done in observance of their faith. 60-year-old Winston Blackmore was married to 25 women at one time while 53-year-old James Oler was married to five women at the same time. Under Canadian law, both men have to serve five years in prison for violating these laws.
The Mormon Church disavowed polygamy back in the late 19th century after facing scrutiny from the United States government. Church President Wilford Woodruff wrote the following proclamation in the subsequent Manifesto:
Inasmuch as laws have been enacted by Congress forbidding plural marriages, which laws have been pronounced constitutional by the court of last resort, I hereby declare my intention to submit to those laws, and to use my influence with the members of the Church over which I preside to have them do likewise.
However, various adherents of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, including the Fundamentalists with which both Blackmore and Oler identify, broke off from the Church and continued to practice polygamy despite its illegality in the United States and in Canada. Following his indictment, Blackmore said:
I’m guilty of living my religion and that’s all I’m saying today because I’ve never denied that. Twenty-seven years and tens of millions of dollars later, all we’ve proved is something we’ve never denied. I’ve never denied my faith. This is what we expected.
Blackmore is expected to appeal the decision. In British Columbia, the Supreme Court is a trial court and any subsequent appeals will be brought forth before the British Columbia Court of Appeal. However, the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled in 2011 that the anti-polygamy laws did not violate the religious freedoms protections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
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This article was corrected to point out that the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is not a sect of the Mormon Church, but rather a rogue entity that cut ties with the original Latter-Day Saints church in opposition to the 1890 Manifesto.