SALT LAKE CITY--It was bound to happen. When the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Texas sodomy law last year, Justice Antonin Scalia warned the ruling would unleash a wave of challenges to state laws against "bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery, fornication, bestiality, and obscenity." According to a CBS News.com report, Scalia's prophecy has been at least partially fulfilled.

Brian Barnard , a civil rights attorney, has brought a lawsuit challenging Utah's polygamy ban. Because of the Supreme Court's gay-sex ruling, some legal experts say the case could have a chance.

Barnard filed the federal lawsuit Jan. 12. It involves a married couple and another woman who wanted to marry but were denied a license by Salt Lake County clerks.

The lawsuit cites the high court's decision last June in Lawrence v. Texas and claims the county violated the plaintiffs' right to privacy regarding intimate matters and denied their First Amendment right of religious freedom.

Utah's constitution bans polygamy, and a Supreme Court ruling held that the First Amendment does not protect the practice. The Mormon Church, a stronghold in the state, abandoned the practice in 1890.

But an estimated 30,000 polygamists across the west still say they are following fundamental Mormon doctrine.

Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said he believes Barnard's case is headed for the Supreme Court but that the state's polygamy ban will be upheld. Other legal experts say Lawrence's logic leads to the legalization of polygamy, since the high court held that morality is not a strong enough justification for the state to ban a practice deemed objectionable by the majority.

Dani Eyer, executive director of the ACLU of Utah, which is not a party to the case, said, "The model of the nuclear family as we know it in the immediate past is unique, and may not necessarily be the best model. Maybe it's time to have this discussion."