‘Sister Wives’ visits Logan, tours USU
Three members of the world-famous polygamist Brown family from the reality television series “Sister Wives” were spotted around Logan last Friday.
USU freshman Abby Roberts was in the Merrill-Cazier Library with her friend when Kody, Janelle and Madison Brown showed up with a guide and a camera crew for a tour. Madison has a $6,000 scholarship to the school and is considering attending, according to the Logan Herald Journal.
“It was cool to see the camera crew and stuff,” Roberts said.
Roberts and a few people followed the crew at a distance around the library as they were shown its various features, including The Borrower’s Automated Retrieval Network (BARN). Although Madison asked if they wanted pictures with her, a university official with them explained photos were not allowed.
Roberts says she knew of some of the family’s teenagers while attending high school in Lehi and has seen a few episodes of the show, so she was interested when a friend told her some of the Browns would be touring campus.
The group was also spotted at The Beehive Grill in Logan earlier that day. A photo of Kody, Janelle and Madison posing with two employees was posted on the restaurant’s Facebook page.
“Sister Wives” chronicles the lives of Kody, his four wives – Meri, Janelle, Christine and Robyn – and their 17 children. Although the show started out in Lehi in 2010, the Browns moved to Las Vegas by the show’s second season because of threat of prosecution for practicing polygamy in Utah, where there are laws against it.
Kody and his wives filed a lawsuit in 2011 on behalf of their family and other polygamists, arguing Utah’s anti-polygamy laws violate freedom of religion. The Browns are fundamentalist Mormons who believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven.
There are approximately 38,000 fundamentalist Mormons who practice or believe in polygamy, Time reports.
U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups ruled that parts of Utah’s anti-polygamy laws are unconstitutional in December.
The ruling makes it so families practicing plural marriage can no longer be prosecuted for cohabitation with multiple women, according to Time. It is still illegal to obtain multiple marriage licenses.
There are four seasons of the show so far, and several of the 17 children have left for college or started touring potential campuses. An episode showing some of the campus tour will air during the fifth season, though the date has not been released, according to The Herald Journal.
— la.stewart65@gmail.com
Twitter: @CarpetComm