Attorneys general defend Texas

Both Goddard and Shurtleff said their states stand ready to help Texas if called upon.

"We stand ready to help, and there are a number of ways we can do that," said Goddard. "Right now, Texas is claiming they're an independent republic and we need to establish diplomatic relations with them."

Dozens of hands were raised when Shurtleff asked the audience how many people there had relatives caught up in the Texas raid and whether they would take the children into their homes. Some of the more than 450 FLDS children, teenagers and young adults swept into custody during the Texas raid are Utah and Arizona residents.

A Texas judge ordered the state to continue to hold custody of the children until individual hearings can be held. Those hearings are expected to begin later this month.

In the meantime, the children were moved to foster care facilities around the state. Parents and their attorneys are still trying to establish visitation schedules with individual children, although that has been a cumbersome process.

Much of the evening's discussion centered on the FLDS Church and its jailed leader, Warren Jeffs. A yellow banner hanging in the Dixie Center ballroom advertised a Web site (captivefldschildren.org) created by the FLDS Church following the Texas raid.

Timpson questioned the action taken by Texas, calling it "draconian."

"How did we get to this point tonight, where the state feels it has the responsibility to remove little children from well-meaning parents?" said Timpson, an educator in Colorado City at the local community college.

Timpson said government raids against polygamist families living in Utah and Arizona have historically created even more problems.

"Today we have polygamists keeping to themselves, making their own rules because the bad guys are out there," he said. "The actions of past raids have solidified this concept. It's hard for me to conceive of a person who will trust me if I have a bat in one hand."

Timpson, along with several members of the audience, called for Utah and Arizona to decriminalize polygamy and to "come out and get to know us."

Goddard again said he believed the 1953 Arizona raid on Short Creek, the historical name for Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., was a "severe mistake."

"What followed, unfortunately, was a period of no discussion at all, and that was unequivocally the wrong answer," he said. "I do know one thing about the Texas situation. There were no meetings like this and no Safety Net meetings. I think the reaction by law enforcement in Texas was in part because of a lack of communication."

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E-mail: nperkins@desnews.com