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Texas widens FLDS probe

If I remember correctly, there were about 75 men on the ranch. Some were too young to practice bigamy and so they were with only one wife. There was an older man with one wife too. I thought 1/3 were young monogamous men and 2/3rd's or 50 were polygamous men. If so, there would be enough men. Furthermore, it seems there were 100-150 women practicing bigamy. Obviously, they didn't have two spouses, but they participated in a relationship that was bigamous. Of these women, there were about 50 who were first wives and it doesn't seem like they could be charged with bigamy. And then there were 50-100 women who made the relationship a bigamous relationship. Generally, it seems that the gender on the short end of the stick isn't charged with anything. The twenty cases of statutory rape would be the ten girls plus 10 of the possibly 30 women. Fifteen of the women have a child that could indicate statutory rape. Perhaps there was a statute of limitations that expired on many of the cases or there isn't enough evidence on some of the older women.

It is only fair the it is just the Males that are charged. That�s because the Males are in charge and the Women are under their control. Even if the Women stood by while their daughters where married off to old men, who already had wife�s, there was little that they could do about it. Who would they report it to and where would they go. Arizona and Utah had already given their answer that they where not going to do much about the situation. In short the females where stuck in their situation. To quote my now dead stepmother. "It was their lot in life" It was the men that did the forced marriages, did the rapes, statutory or other wise, and fathered the Children out of legal wedlock. Also in some cases not only rape or statuary rape, but incest as well. As in the case of the 13 year old being forced to merry her 19 year old cousin, and in the end being repeatedly raped by him. The picture Jeff�s tongue kissing the 12 year old girl he supposedly married and then raped still grosses me out and it takes a lot to do that.

It's easy to see what the state is doing. They know they can't win in court, so they're going to arrest as many as possible, giving them all the maximum bail, hoping to drive the FLDS into bankruptcy. The first set of FLDS men made a mistake by turning themselves in. If they keep thinking this is a normal prosecution where they can prove themselves innocent, they're in for a disaster.

This witch hunt is getting out of hand. Its time the good people of thid country demsnd a stop to this.

Slowly but surely the wheels of justice turn. Very predictable.

Women are not going to have equality until we take responsibiity for our lives. That includes taking the consequences for all our adult decisions. There is some sympathy for the fact that the FLDS women were brain washed from birth and coerced at best into plural marriages. However, as adults,they have to be held responsible. Under the law, they are not children. It's a problem so so many women still have in this country. We are not victims anymore.

These FLDS don't legally marry more than one wife. The second wife is a marriage in their eyes only. How can they be charged with bigamy?

If the govt, Utah or Texas is going to charge them for relations with a woman other than their legal wife, it seems like selective prosecution to go after them and not people in the rest of society that do this.

Equal proctection under the law?

I don't understand why these people are not being charged and sued by the respective states for abandoning their young sons before they are ready to take care of themselves. This is wrong and should be illegal if it isn't already, also it throws to the rest of society the burden of providing charity for these young men.

I wish the FLDS would get a clue and start acting like decent citizens. It should be obvious one ought not abandon their own children.

Witch hunt? Texas aims to destroy them? The FLDS are blogging again this morning trying to make the rest of us believe they are victims and that there is a groundswell of support for them.

The only ones victimizing the FLDS are their own leaders. The States of Texas, Utah and Arizona are only doing their best to stop the crimes these people have been perpetrating on their own people for generations.

I hope the State of Texas does bankrupt them. Only a major catastrophe can put as stop to this evil. The Nazis were very sincere about what they believed. They were sure they were right. It took a World War to finally put a stop to the crimes they were committing.

Warren Jeffs has publicly stated (on tape) that he is a FALSE prophet. The FLDS people need to get a clue. They need help to get out of this sick cycle which has gone on for generations. This is their chance to get it.

Go Texas. More and more the flds is reducing itself to a national punchline, as people see them for what they are. Harrangue them out of town, and into jail if necessary. The rest can come back to Utah where, with a nudge and a wink, they're accepted.

It's fairly easy in Texas to be considered 'married' under common law. Live together, consider yourself married, and present yourself as married to others.

State statute however prescribes that even a 'common law marriage' must have a formal divorce...or else you're still married in the eyes of the State.

Bigamy in this case is nothing more than the new style "open" marriage. These people are actually quite in vogue according to today's morals and standards, though we tend to think of them as living in the past. How do you prosecute people choosing to live this way when the multiple wives are not legally married to them anyway? They are not breaking the law in this way any more than others who have "mistresses" - known or unknown by the first wife. Are we going to round them up too?

Mr. Parker is right, the law protects one whose husband is being deceptive and taking secret wives.
Rangers are merely trumping up charges to drain these people of any financial means they may have, paying lawyers, making bail, losing opportunities to work and generally putting them through this to justify the debacle of the child roundup. They came up with pie on their face and now they need to show they have SOMETHING and apparently there aren't enough child abusers and rapists to do the job. Looking desperate!

If they're out to clean up Texas morally, they have a huge job ahead of them but they'd better be consistent!

If there is no criminal action then FLDS has nothing to fear, unless Texass (rooted in evangelicalism) plans to persue closure of the FLDS religion. From what weve seen and heard so far would anyone be surprised?

It will be interesting to see what the Feds dig up.

Rod Parker says its hard to see where the crime is. If it is against the law, it is a crime. I get pulled over if i happen to go 30 in a 25 mile per hour zone. Then I pay a steep fine for my "crime". The law is the law. The fundamentalist way of life takes advantage of women and children. This despotism has got to stop!

Im sure the FBI is interested in the Computers, and the information, income, pay outs etc. Looks like this case is HUGE! And there were more men there than was reported to the public, or on the bishops list.
Regardless what Rod Parker says, This isnt Utah, or Arizona, This is TEXAS!

What does the TEXAS law, and only the TEXAS law, say about it? In this case that's the only thing that counts.

Comments about LFDS leaders being the ones actually responsible is right on the money. Their followers are zelots in their belief and blind following of whatever they are told by the leaders. I have learned this from experience dealing with them in the Army.

I was in Germany in the mid 1970's and there were neighborhoods and whole villages still clinging to the Nazi propaganda line. They're waiting for der fuherer to return from wherever he fled and, "He will come!" We'd drive around, or carefully through, those areas in anything that said we were Americans. There was no amount of persuasion that could change their minds.

The attitude toward any attempt to influence different thinking exhibited by either FLDS or the left over Nazi believers was very similar. I suppose it is the same with any group of zealos believers in a lifestyle.

Often in places where wrong is taught as right for 12 generations the person doesn't know what is really wrong. Such is the case with the followers of Warren Jeffs and his predecessors.

good job, Texas. All the whiners on here that said Texas was spinning their wheels are eating crow.

I totally disagree with awesomeron. Both the fathers and the mothers should be held responsible. The mothers stood by while their children were being married off to relatives and old men, and need to pay the price.

Don't say "what could they do". They could just leave. If held there, kidnapping is a serious offense and all they had to do was say so and bullies like Willie would stand back and say go ahead and go. THESE ARE THEIR CHILDREN. They should be willing to DIE for them. Instead they hand them off like a peice of meat.

Send everyone involved to jail. Even those that stood by and watched.

Now maybe the kids will have a chance at a decent future, without being brainwashed into thinking they have but one lot in life. They certainly won't be living in YFZ while their parents are in prison....

The hatemongers are still at it. They believe every wild unsubstaniated rumor. Feminists stiil refuse to believe that women make choices that dont fit with feminists dogma. Read the letters written by the mental heslth workers who were brought in observe the women and children at Fort Concho. They wrote that these showed no signs of being brainwashed or abused. Dont regard the fact that these women dont react the way you assume they should as proof in and of itself that they are brainwashed.

Re Cats:Just because someone does not agree with your opinion, it does not necessarily follow that they are a member of the opposition, in this case the FLDS.

Your equating the FLDS with Nazis, requiring WWII was a little over the top to say the least.

I might recommend caution, when stacking the wood
for the, "burning at the stake activity". Some day you may find it is you, that is to be burned.

We've tried to put an end to in-eqauality of all kinds in our country. Finally, young women (and some young me) are getting their chances against brainwashing of religion. Take notice all religions! Your "conditioning" is not going to be put with any longer.