Polygamists will learn to lobby the Legislature

Proclaiming "we're families, not felons!" members of Utah's polygamous communities are becoming more politically active.

The pro-polygamy group Principle Voices is planning a day on Utah's Capitol Hill for its members to become familiar with the legislative process.

"Our bridge-building effort is to educate our own people and people outside our culture so we can communicate and understand each other better," Principle Voices' Anne Wilde said in an interview Wednesday with the Deseret News.

The Feb. 12 Legislative Education Day for Fundamentalist Mormon families will feature an orientation on how to lobby, a tour of the state capitol and the Legislature in session and a lunch. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Ric Cantrell, the chief deputy of the Utah Senate, will also speak to the crowd of about 100 people expected to attend.

"We want to facilitate an open dialogue between all Utah citizens and the government they live under, fund, and for which they are ultimately responsible. The cure for the ills of a democratic republic is even more of a democratic republic," Cantrell said Wednesday. "Alienation is dangerous to all parties, and these families have experienced that danger firsthand. I hope the cross-cultural engagement can break down barriers and solve problems before they arise. The broader the understanding, the less potential for bigotry, demonization and the stupid, violent acts toward which the alienated — on both sides — are prone."

Principle Voices has become increasingly active in recent years, emerging out of the prosecutions of some polygamists in Utah. The group has tried to liaison between government and the estimated 37,000 people who describe themselves as fundamentalist Mormons.

"This is an effort to increase the dialogue so people aren't intimidated by these government officials," Wilde said. "We've heard Mark Shurtleff say he's not prosecuting consenting adults and he's not doing a raid like Texas. It helps to hear that in person so they can not be quite so paranoid."

Wilde said she also wanted lawmakers to see that a lot of the stereotypes of polygamists aren't true and most fundamentalists are law-abiding citizens. There is one notable exception in polygamy.

"We still have to be mindful of obeying all the other laws. We've told them we're not going to live in fear of being prosecuted if we don't break other laws," she said. "We pay taxes. We don't perform underage marriages."

While there is a history of criminal convictions tied to underage marriages, since the raid on the Fundamentalist LDS Church's Texas ranch, other polygamous groups have spoken out, saying that they do not perform them or have told their members to wait until they're older to marry. The FLDS Church issued a statement last year saying it no longer condoned the practice.

There is no specific legislation aimed at polygamy in the Legislature this year, but Principle Voices is still actively tracking issues in Arizona and other states. On Tuesday, Wilde and Principle Voices executive director Mary Batchelor met with Republican and Democratic lawmakers to push for funding for the Safety Net Committee, a coalition of polygamists, activists, social service workers and government agencies working to combat abuse within isolated communities.

"I think just being a presence hopefully did some good," Wilde said.

E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com