Another 39 percent said polygamists should be prosecuted for plural marriage alone, and 5 percent said polygamy should not be against the law if it is between consenting adults.

"I think your poll confirms most Utahns want to make sure children are protected from abuse, women are protected from domestic violence and taxpayers are protected from fraud," said Utah Attorney General's Office spokesman Paul Murphy.

Murphy also serves as coordinator of the Safety Net Committee, a coalition of government agencies, social service workers, activists and polygamists. The committee's goal is to provide services to abuse victims as well as educate people in closed polygamous societies.

The attorneyeneralhas not prosecuted bigamy alone, but has used it when pursuing criminal charges against polygamists for underage marriages or abuse. Murphy said the state must use limited resources effectively and go after the most egregious crimes.

"You go after the worst first," he said.

Linda Kelsch, a founder of the pro-polygamy group Principle Voices, said the attorney general's approach toward polygamy prosecutions still places fundamentalists on a different level than other citizens.

"It's the best they can do now without changing the laws," she said. "My wonderment is if Mark (Shurtleff) has the ability to create laws like the child bigamy laws to enhance prosecution, why wouldn't he also have the ability to introduce decriminalization?"

Decriminalization, she insists, would help ferret out abuse and neglect by showing that polygamists have nothing to hide and won't be prosecuted for their lifestyle alone.

Some members of Utah's polygamist communities still fear prosecution, although one polygamous man told the Deseret News he is fine with the attorney general's approach to bigamy prosecutions.

"Technically they're breaking the law, OK? But realitywise, nobody's being hurt by that," he said. "If consenting adults choose to participate in that relationship, it should be up to them."

As society changes, he expects more people to grow tolerant of polygamous relationships.

"American society isn't going to tolerate government interfering in consensual relationships," he said.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com