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Lynn Wardle

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Lynn D. Wardle
Born15 November 1947
NationalityAmerican
Alma materBrigham Young University (B.A.)
Duke Law School (JD)
OccupationLaw professor
EmployerBrigham Young University
Academic work
InstitutionsJ. Reuben Clark Law School

Lynn D. Wardle is an American Emeritus Professor of Law at the J. Reuben Clark Law School of Brigham Young University. He specializes in family law, constitutional law, and bioethics.

Wardle received his bachelor's degree from BYU in 1971[1][2] and graduated cum laude from Duke University Law School in 1974.

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Wardle was a clerk for Judge John Sirica.[2][1]

Lynn Wardle submitted an amicus brief to the US Supreme Court on behalf of the state of Utah during the H. L. v. Matheson trial, in support of Utah's parental notification statute requiring doctors to notify the parents of teens undergoing abortions at least 24 hours before the procedure.[3] A discussion of his brief in the June 1983 edition of the West Virginia Law Review mentions him as a professor.[3]

Wardle recognized during the Baehr v. Miike lawsuit that a ruling in favor of the plaintiffs could result in same-sex marriages being legalized in Hawaii, which would force Utah to recognize Hawaiian same-sex marriages (under then-current Utah state law).[4] In January 1995 Wardle wrote memos to Utah State Senator LeRay McAllister and Utah House of Representatives member Norman L. Nielsen, urging them to propose legislation which would explicitly codify an exception for same-sex marriage into Utah's marriage recognition statue.[5][6] Nielson subsequently drafted and sponsored House Bill 366 to do exactly that,[7][6] which Utah legislators voted for "overwhelmingly".[8] Wardle's proposed legislation was signed into law in Utah by Governor Mike Leavitt in March 1995,[9] becoming the first of the state-level "DOMA Laws" to go into effect in the United States.[6]

Wardle has testified before congressional committees in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996[6] and the Federal Marriage Amendment in April of 2005.[10][11] Wardle was "the only law professor to testify in favor of DOMA in either the House or the Senate".[6] In addition to opposing same-sex marriage, Wardle also opposes allowing same-sex couples to adopt children.

As a representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), Wardle has spoken regularly to the World Congress of Families, an organization that opposes legal protections on the basis of sexual orientation, opposes same sex marriage, and supports policies against homosexuality in Russia. He spoke at the 1997 WCF gathering in Prague[12] at the 2007 WCF gathering in Warsaw, and at the 2017 WCF gathering in Budapest.[13]

Wardle currently holds the Bruce C. Hafen Professorship at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.[2]

Wardle was the General Secretary of the International Society for Family Law (ISFL) and later its president. He remains on its Executive Council.[14] He also edits the Society's web site.[15]

Mormon studies

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In 1994 Wardle published an article in the Journal of Book of Mormon Studies on what the Book of Mormon says about dissent.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Faculty Profiles". BYU.edu. Brigham Young University. Retrieved 21 June 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) [dead link]
  2. ^ a b c "BYU Law: Faculty Profile: Lynn D. Wardle". Brigham Young University. 2024. Archived from the original on 2024-07-20. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
  3. ^ a b "Parental Notification and Abortion: A Review and Recommendation to West Virginia's Legislature". West Virginia Law Review. 85 (5). West Virginia: David W. Frame West Virginia University College of Law. June 1983. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
  4. ^ Wardle, Lynn D. (2014-02-28) [1995-01-19]. "Necessary Revision of Utah Marriage Code re: Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage" (PDF). Alliance For A Better Utah. pp. 51–54. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-08-11. Retrieved 2025-06-20 – via National Center for LGBTQ Rights.
  5. ^ Ledingham, Shawn S.; Kroll-Rosenbaum, Sarah; Bowman, Courtney M. (2014-02-28). "BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE ALLIANCE FOR A BETTER UTAH IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS-APPELLEES AND IN SUPPORT OF AFFIRMANCE OF ORDER" (PDF). Alliance For A Better Utah. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-08-11. Retrieved 2025-06-20 – via National Center for LGBTQ Rights.
  6. ^ a b c d e Snow, Karen (Spring 1997). "Law Professor Defends Marriage in Same-Sex Marriage Battle". Brigham Young Magazine (Y Magazine). Utah, USA: Brigham Young University. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
  7. ^ "MEASURE ON SAME-SEX UNIONS OK'D DESPITE LEGAL THREAT". The Deseret News. Utah, USA. 1995-02-21. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  8. ^ Dunlap, David W. (1995-03-15). "Some States Trying to Stop Gay Marriages Before They Start". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2013-12-31. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  9. ^ Historical Code: Marriages prohibited and void. utah.gov. Utah State Legislature. 1995. Title 30, Chapter 1, Section 2. Archived from the original on 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  10. ^ "Testimony of Professor Lynn Wardle, Professor of Law, Brigham Young University Law School". United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. 2005-04-13. Archived from the original on 2008-08-29. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  11. ^ "Panel Continues Debate on Same-Sex Marriage". wcpinst.org. Capitol Hill, Washington D.C., USA: Women's Congressional Policy Institute. 2005. Archived from the original on 2025-06-19. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
  12. ^ "Church Delegates Attend World Congress of Families", Ensign, June 1997, p. 75.
  13. ^ Elisa (4 March 2022). "The Real Gay Agenda: Homophobia, Russian Fascism, and the LDS Church in Eastern Europe". Retrieved 4 March 2022 – via Wheat & Tares.
  14. ^ "Yale Same-sex Marriage Symposium :: Speaker Bio : Lynn Wardle". Archived from the original on 4 March 2005. Retrieved 23 August 2008.
  15. ^ ISFL web-site
  16. ^ Wardle, Lynn D. (1994). "Dissent: Perspectives from the Book of Mormon". Journal of Book of Mormon Studies. 3 (1). Utah, USA: Bringham Young University: 53–73. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
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