Not sure how many people outside of Utah and Texas are aware of the government searches of the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saint compound over the last week in Texas, but I would like to comment on this issue.
First, I need to make it clear to my readers that the FLDS religion is not affiliated with my LDS faith (aka Mormonism). Polygamy is not condoned by my fellow church members and my church leaders, and has not been practiced by Mormons in good standing with the church in more than a hundred years.
Second, as a human being, as a member of society, and as a dedicated youth therapist it is my moral, personal, and legal responsibility to report child abuse to authorities. Taking such civic and ethical responsibilities very seriously I find all child abuse abhorrent and I have difficulty understanding, and having empathy for, anyone that abuses an innocent child.
Third, I have always had a difficult time with the notion of Polygamy--not a fan. I have not been able to temper what I know to be true in my religion and the fact that my religion does have a Polygamy history. I struggle to understand why Utah's AG has looked the other way when it comes to enforcing Utah law and prosecuting the illegalities of the many Utah Polygamists. That is, until now...
With this said, I find the Texas raids deeply disturbing. When the news first broke I didn't understand my initial uncomfortable feelings--why did it bother me that Texas was finally doing what I have often criticized Utah for not doing? It took several days for me to analyze my feelings and here goes: it comes down to basic civil rights. Do we not have the right to practice religion in this country, as long as it does not impede on another's rights? I finally understand why Utah's AG has not taken this on--they will find themselves in a messy Civil Rights battle. Despite my own discomfort with Polygamy, don't Polygamists have a right to worship just like I do? My faith has been grossly unpopular in the past and I can't help but think about the persecution Mormons unjustly endured for many years. Might I point out it was legal to kill a Mormon in the state of Missouri until just a few years ago? If the FDLS faith is going to be prosecuted for their worship, how long will it be until all of us are prosecuted/persecuted for our worship? America is based on fundamental human rights and I want to keep mine. I want to keep mine even when I disagree with someone else's interpretation of their rights, just as long as my rights/safety and my children's rights/safety are not infringed upon as a result.
Further, was it really necessary to take more than 450 (I cannot even wrap my head around this number) children into state's custody? As stated above I advocate investigating child abuse allegations and prosecuting offenders to the full extent of the law. And I am glad Texas took the abuse allegation seriously and initiated an investigation. But taking nearly 500 children out of their homes is complete over-kill and the resulting trauma of being removed from their parents inflicted on those children makes me very glad I am not a children's therapist in Texas that will have to clean up the emotional mess the Texas government has created. I can think of many ways this particular FLDS group could have been investigated without removing all of the children.
One of the nightly news headlines last night was, "Fundamentalist Women Taking Matters Into Their Own Hands and Fight To Get Their Children Back." Good for them, go FLDS women!
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2 comments:
This is a very difficult issue. I believe children's rights trump other people's and organization's rights. The church does not have the right to violate state and federal law regarding marriage age limits and polygamy. Technically, as I understand it, these people are not married in the legal sense because they would be in violation of civil law. They are joined in religious ceremonies, but as far as the state is concerned, the husband and "wives" are just living together. This is how they get around civil law. Warren Jepps was convicted of abetting statutory rape by arranging a "marriage" of an underage girl. If these guys are not marrying these girls because they want to avoid the law, they shouldn't be having sex with them if they are underage. That's statutory rape and child abuse. If that is true, then the state had the right to step in.
Now,did Texas go too far? Probably. And I believe the courts will undo the legal stuff in cases where it wasn't warranted. In essence they captured all the fish in the sea to get the ones they were after. Some of the illegally caught fish will be harmed in throwing them back. Collateral damage. Unfortunately this was a lose-lose situation for just about everyone. There would have been collateral damage the other way if they didn't go far enough. That is, some kids would continue to be abused. I don't know the answer. I do know that civil rights in Texas are handle quite a bit differently than in Utah.
Child abuse is child abuse. While these guy can claim religious freedom, it should not be upheld.
I completely agree with dad 100%. Remember that link "yin and yang" I sent you before? She has a discussion on her blog about this same topic. Very interesting. But extremely upsetting.
It's interesting to hear how you feel, since yeah-if this had happened in Utah.... you'd be helping unravel the mess.
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