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Lee Benson: Texas raid has opened can of worms

Excellent article.

It is ironic that the women and children who by have been suffering under this morally bankrupt group of men are the ones who are being torn apart. Instead of being arrested on charges of polygamy, the men go free.

Here is the problem. If they start arresting the men on charges of polygamy they will need to arrest all the other men in the country who are stepping out on their wives. You would have to arrest all politicians, rock stars, famous actors and men next door have fathered children by women or minor girls other than their wife.

The only hope is that the men marrying and sleeping with underage girls will be brought to justice because sexual abuse laws are still being enforced in most states. But Texas better hurry because way we are headed in this county the laws dealing with marriage and sexual exploitation of minors will be off the books in a few more years.

So Mr. Benson -- what is the "bottom line?" Continue to raise young girls as breeders swapped amongst older men and impregnated when they are 13 or 14? That is a can of worms that needs to be opened more often than every 9 years or so. Texas may find out it has bitten off more than it can chew but at least it has taken a strong stand. Better than the approach of the Utah AG which calls for conferences, seminars and negotiations with attorneys followed by a big group hug.
The Professor is right that prosecution for polygamy may not be practical when it is practiced by knowing and willing adults, but child abuse should always be prosecuted.

Oh the litigation that will swamp Texas for years to come! This will be like Iraq has become to the U.S. Well Texas, now that you have it what are you going to do with it?

To Professor: you need to retake logic 101. I seriously doubt you are a professor because your logical jumps not... well... logical. A is to B as is to C, therefore... that class.

Polygamy and child abuse are not the same as sleeping around. You are trying to excuse polygamy by comparing it to cheating on your spouse. The comparison is irrational.

Retake Logic 101. Texas is doing what society has to do. Just because person A in Hollywood has an affair with person B in Seattle does not mean polygamy and child abuse. If either is married, then it is called cheating. If the girls are being set up for old men, that is ... well rape?

Texas is not prosecuting cheating. They are after the institutionalization of child abuse through polygamy. Much different.

Turn in your doctorate please.

memo to DN editors:
the irony of a courthouse named "Tom Green" has been beat to death. PLEASE delete irony references from all future stories and columns.
please

Sorry, Lee; from outside Utah, at least, it doesn't look that complicated.

Is there any other state with tens of thousands of polygamist tolerated as an open secret?

The fact that Utah has never been able or willing to deal with it's polygamy has always seemed incredibly slack and incompetent.

Texas' solution may be messy but it sends a clear signal that polygamous enclaves will not be tolerated and that whatever the cost it will be dealt with.

It inevitably brings Chuck Norris-Barney Fife comparisons (and I am a huge Barney fan)

I guess you can whine and fret the details or roll up your sleeves and grab a can of Raid.

It's really not that complicated.

re: leroy
you are correct- polygamy and infidelity are only related on Mars.
On this planet, Professor, polygamy is a CRIME and infidelity is perhaps a moral issue but NO CRIME.
Child abuse and the marrying of multiple pre-pubescent girls is sick and must be eradicated.
WHERE IS THE UTAH A.G.??? As the pressure mounts on Utah to FINALLY take a stand, either the A.G. will have to act or impeach him.

Oh, yes, I agree, this is all much too complicated to dare deal with. And, golly gee, added to that, there are so many "ironies." Utah, Texas, Arizona, and Colorado should absolutely not make the horrible mistake to enforce the law of the land; it is just TOO complicated.

I am no fan of the FLDS practices. Kicking out young teen boys to make room for pologamy is quite wrong as is busting up families and assigning wives and kids to other "more worthy" men. That said ...

If it is sexual abuse for a young teen girl to get married then our ansestors for thousands of years have been committing sexual abuse and we are all products of it. It was in the Laura Ingles Wilder series of books in grade school (Little House on the Prairie Series) that I first learned years ago people got married younger than they do not.

Fact is, nature dictates or highly suggests that we do. It is at puberty that men and women get the desire and ability to mate and bond together. The fact that or societal norms and perseptions have changed does not change this. Nor does the fact that we have passed laws against young teens getting married change this.

Yes our society requires more education than we used to, so it is necessary to marry later. However the FLDS do not live in "our society".

Forcing one to marry is wrong, but I doubt marrying young is.

You are wrong, Infidelity is a crime in Utah as is fornication. This is true in other states too.

Are you still so gun ho about enforcing all laws?

Good article. Texas is going to have a mess to deal with for years to come. Also, I wish our Utah AG was as interested in prosecuting illegal immigration as he is polygamy. Illegal immigration has a more negative impact on this state than polygamy does.

Texas took a page from the Short Creek raid and did not separate children from mothers all at once or in public. The raid was very well planned and one month later, it has appeared to work out, but of course, more time is needed.

I hope Utah and Arizona are not too proud to take a lesson from Texas if the Texas raid ends up being successful.

I would agree that Utah and Arizona should wait a few years until the Texas court challenges are over, but they shouldn't wait too long because the problem tends to grow as time passes. Utah and Arizona are smaller states that will have to deal with 5000 children if they precisely copy Texas.

It is clear to me that Utah and Texas must do something other than make excuses. Pass laws, establish a cleanup fund, get new leadership, accept federal assistance. Take your pick, but make sure you are effective.