VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- A Canadian provincial Supreme Court judge in Vancouver upheld the federal ban on polygamy Wednesday but said the law has imperfections.
British Columbia Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Bauman made the appeal ruling in a 2009 case in which polygamy charges against two Mormon leaders from the town of Bountiful were stayed, The National Post reported.
Bauman said under existing federal law, not only are alleged polygamists prosecuted, but also their partners, who have been as young as 12 and old as 18, the report said.
The judge recommended Parliament change the law's wording to strike the word "everyone" in prosecutorial guidelines to ensure only adults face trial.
Canada has banned polygamy since 1892.
The mainstream Mormon Church stopped practicing polygamy more than a century ago, but offshoots such the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in British Columbia continue the practice of men having multiple wives.
