Reader comments
Polygamy summit drawing interest

"pro-polygamy group, insists that one way to end all the isolation and secrecy is to legalize polygamy."

another would be to obey the law.

IT'S AGAINST THE LAW, THINK BACK TO 1890'S, IT'S TIME WE FOLLOW LAWS THAT ARE ON THE BOOKS, IF YOU DON'T LIKE THEM, LEAVE THE STATES...

To continually associate polygamy and child abuse is simply a propaganda tactic. Until those two issues are addressed as the two separate issues they really are, little or no progress can be made in any "dialogue." Do the children of philanderers get taken away? No, not simply because their fathers sleep around. But if a man is committed for life to two women and rearing the children of those unions, rather than just having selfish sexual relations, his actions are seen as more egregious. Hopefully, people will wake up and see the grave inconsistancy in how we approach polygamy.

"It's against the law." Tell that to a black person, or a woman who wanted to vote. The fact is the polygamists are hard working, clean, taxpaying contributors to society. The government has broken the lives of 400+ children; taken a successful community and tried to make it look dirty and immoral. They've no right to impress their values on others. Simple as that. It's alright to trot your nipple ring down mainstreet, but raising polite, educated children is against the law. Which culture is more perverse?

In many cultures around the world, polygamy is commonplace. It is certainly better than the rampant casual sex that we have in this country. Our nation was founded on the values of individual liberty. If there are two women willing to marry me, why should the government get so incensed? And why would anyone else care?

As the great state of Texas allows "Anchor Babies" to enter this world with open arms to Federally illegal statue, should not these child also be removed from their mother? Many of these young illegal girls having babies are under 18 years of age, enouraged to become PG, and face far more "child abuse" possibilities. Then I hear some people attempt to describe the conditions at the Church establish similiar to the concentration camps of Germany-How sick and derranged we can be sometimes!

I am not pro or con polygamy to each his own, but if there is the chance that underage girls are being forced into relationships and to have sexual relationships whith their "spouses" than that is child abuse and it should be looked into, I do agree though that child abuse and polygamy are 2 seperate cases, its just that these 2 cases have come together in this texas polygamy situation.

Some of you people need to do your homework before you make statements about how horribly the FLDS has been treated. This is NOT about freedom of religion, it's about child abuse. GOD BLESS TEXAS for addressing what other states have turned a blind eye to for years. Nobody cares if they practice polygamy or not, but we do care that children in the cult are abused on a regular basis. Stop trying to make it a freedom of religion argument. It's abuse, plain and simple.

It's upsetting that too many of the media are unwilling to acually report accurately. Not only is it a fact that not all Mormon Polygamists do what the FLDS do, but NATIONWIDE there are non-Mormon polygamists who do nothing and believe nothing that Mormon Polygamists do/believe. Too many reporters, Ben Winslow included, are unwilling to differentiate or report all facts. Here's proof, for example. Internet search for ths national press report:
"National Polygamy Rights Movement for Consenting Adults Disavows FLDS". It shows that Mormon and non-Mormon, consenting adult polygamists oppose underage issues as much as anyone else.
Any reporter not reporting about those facts is proving their unwillingness to report the actual facts.

I am the fifth generation of original mormon polygamists.

I know from personal experience that polygamy does great harm. Even though my grandfather & his brothers and sisters were the last in our family tree to experience polygamy, the descendants continue to experience harm through factors such as genetic disease, few resources (material goods & money)& deprivation, and extremely low self-esteem.

All resources including the results of labor went to the family of the first wife. In the 2nd generation after polygamy (my generation) we are beginning to cast off the horrid servitude found in polygamy.

But there was no welfare available to additional wives then. Today plural wives collect welfare as single mothers. Taxpayers should NOT be supporting the polygamous way of life!

What can be done to stop that?

The problem I see with polygamy is that it defies the laws of nature. Girls and Boys are born at nearly equal rates. If all men have the opportunity to have multiple wives, some men will have many and many men will have none. I think I'd have an easier time accepting it if women could equally choose multiple husbands. It would mantain the natural balance.

The other problem I have is that there is no way 1 man can support a family of 20 to 30 children. this is why some of them rely on state aid. It is not fair that the tax payers have to help fund the raising of these children.

people in america, you do not have to wait so much longer on these issues. the muslims moving into your neighborhoods also have the polygamist lifestyle, and along with it's abuses, etc., so what will the laws be for that sector of population? sharia? US?
ps: all of the abuses of humankind are from improper relationships.