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Utah

Before Utah could become a state in 1896, it had to outlaw polygamy. That's the practice of men taking two or more wives. Thus, the Mormon Church, based in Salt Lake City, had no choice but to reverse its position and denounce it.

Fast forward to over 100 years later, and polygamy continues to flourish in several Utah communities. Over 20,000 Utahans now live in a polygamist colony in which a man has several wives and a multitude of kids.

Yet not one polygamist has been prosecuted in almost 50 years.

According to Governor Mike Leavitt, a descendant of polygamists himself, no one has been prosecuted because they have religious freedom. Yes, but isn't this the freedom you were supposed to give up? That was the deal. Remember?

In 1998, a 16-year-old girl came forward with tales of incest, child abuse, and coerced marriage that had occurred among one of Utah's largest polygamist clans -- a clan of 1,500 whose leader is worth over $150 million. She said her dad made her become his brother's 15th wife. Dad performed the ceremony, and the uncle's other wives attended. When she tried to escape, Dad whipped her. She said she had sex with her uncle four times.

In 1999, Dad was convicted of third degree felony child abuse. Her uncle, David Ortell Kingston, was convicted of incest and sentenced to up to ten years in prison.

But the State of Utah did not charge him with polygamy. In fact, the topic was barely mentioned at the trial.

So polygamy's okay in Utah -- but don't you dare be gay. In 1995, a group of Salt Lake City high schoolers formed a Gay-Straight Alliance -- and the local school board tried to shut it down. But because a 1984 federal law prohibits schools from discriminating against clubs for their beliefs, the board decided they had to ban all school-sponsored clubs. Oh, yeah, that seems fair.

The next year, the Utah Legislature voted to ban gay student clubs to keep gays from "recruiting kids into a lifestyle that can kill them." Yeah! Let them join a nice gun club instead!

One legislator who pushed the bill said his late brother had AIDS and was misled to believe he was born gay. If only he had got himself several wives, he might still be alive today.