Bountiful's religious leaders appear in B.C. court on polygamy charges
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 21, 2009 | 11:02 AM PT
CBC News
Winston Blackmore, accused of having 19 wives, shares a laugh with six of his daughters and some of his grandchildren in April 2008. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)The case of two religious leaders charged with practising polygamy was put off until Feb. 18 following a brief court appearance by the two men in a Creston, B.C., court Wednesday morning.
Winston Blackmore, 52, and James Oler, 44, appeared in provincial court for five minutes while Crown prosecutors said they were not ready to disclose their evidence to defence lawyers.
The case was put off until February to give the Crown time to prepare its case. Neither man is being held in custody.
Afterward, Blackmore told reporters outside that he is just a Canadian practising his rights as laid out in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
"I've taken the time last night to read the Charter of Rights and Freedoms — twice — not just our basic Canadian rights but our equality rights. I think if I am guilty of anything, it's being a Canadian and just living my religion," he said.
Blackmore and Oler were charged on Jan. 6 with one count each of breaching Section 293 of the Criminal Code, which bans polygamy, by entering into a conjugal relationship with more than one individual at a time.
Blackmore, a leader in the religious community of Bountiful in southeastern British Columbia, is accused of having 19 wives.
Oler, a rival leader in the community, is accused of having two wives. Both men face a maximum of five years in prison if convicted.
Earlier in January, Blackmore called his arrest religious persecution, and suggested political grandstanding ahead of a provincial election is behind the decision to lay charges.
Gay marriage cited by defence
Blackmore's lawyer told CBC News he plans to defend his client's right to marry more than one woman by citing gay marriage and cohabitation arrangements.
Blair Suffredine said his defence will challenge the legitimacy of the Criminal Code's ban on polygamy, arguing it contravenes religious protections under the charter.
He maintained the legal and social standards behind the legality of same-sex marriage make it difficult to argue that it's a criminal offence to enter into conjugal relationships with more than one person at the same time, provided all adults are consenting.
"I don't understand why our law would sanction that as criminal behaviour if it's between consenting adults," he said
Suffredine said he also plans to argue that cohabitation arrangements between multiple people are acceptable under Canadian law, he said.
"You can live in a communal relationship and not breach any laws, but if you actually promise to look after the other person in a ceremony, you've committed a criminal act," Suffredine said Tuesday.
Religious rivals
Blackmore is the former bishop of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for the religious community of Bountiful.
He has also reportedly fathered about 80 children with numerous wives, some as young as 15 when he allegedly married them.
In 2003, Blackmore and an estimated 1,000 community members split from the church after rejecting Warren Jeffs, the church's U.S.-based leader, as a prophet.
Jeffs then appointed Oler as his leader in the community.
While the church calls itself the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or the Mormon church, has distanced itself from the polygamous sect.
The main Mormon church ended the practice of polygamous marriage in 1890 and eventually adopted a policy of excommunication for those who continued the practice.
Corrections and Clarifications
- Police and prosecutors allege Winston Blackmore has 19 wives, not 20 as originally reported. Feb. 24, 2009 | 2:05 p.m. PT
