Comments about ‘Summit targets FLDS’

Headline "Summit targets FLDS" the very name of the headline states its unconstitutional, Government/ Law enforcement should never target any Religious group, they should be targeting Crimes. I hope the federal Government or someone stops this Blatant Attack on THE U.S.A. that is if this Headline is Accurate news, Im not sure anymore.

Ok, I'm still waiting for the "charges" that were suppose to come out of the CPS investigation. I read about a lot of CYA from local and state authorities after this flap and I'm still waiting for some kind of proof. A bunch of embarrased law (?) enforcers meeting in Utah means nothing. Where's the proof. Put up or shut up.
You know what's really scary? People who don't have the money to get lawyers and fight these people often get rolled over. Often it's just an abuse of the poor. Sad, sad, sad!!!

I think it's great something is being done, and the sharing of information going on. This whole flds needs a heads up that certain things aren't allowed to happen in the name of religon... keep the lines open and inforce our laws.

What are they targeting?

Our entire "main stream" culture has completely denigrated the idea of marriage. Multiple partners throughout a life is considered normal. People marry and divorce or never marry at all....
So, what are they targeting? Perhaps, that these groups actually seem to value their children and don't throw them away?

Good. It's about time that religious prisons were shut down, no matter where they go. There has to be a line somewhere before whatever takes place to get underage girls to have sex with their creepy old uncles. Before young lives are denied and robbed so they can be sex slaves. This isn't religion. Go get 'em.

Its unbelievable that a government agency is targeting a specific religion.

There is something we tend to forget. We have freedom of religion until that religion puts someone or something at risk of danger or abuse of any type. Including, verbal, mental, physical, and sexual. Talk to anyone who was a part of the FLDS and they are usually open about what went on. The majority of the people are not bad. They just don't know any different. And when you have one man telling everyone what to do for everything in your life and it goes on for generations, and your education and communication is close to non existent, it a harsh cycle and the government will step in. When you are denying you children an education to help further their lives, or worse forcing your family to live in poverty and malnourished, the government will protect the childrens civil rights. Thats what America is about.

Lawbreakers

It's about time law-enforcement agencies targeting these lawbreakers. For far too long they have been thumbing their noses at the law, ignoring any laws that they didn't agree with.

Forced child marriages, child rape, kidnapping, welfare fraud, child abuse, slavery, false imprisonment, denying constitutionally guaranteed basic freedoms, illegally reassigning women and children to new men, lying to authorities, incest, etc., etc.

As long as the FLDS are no longer practicing underage marriage --- they need to be left alone.

Prosecute those who are involved in underage marriage --- let them "repent from afar" with Warren Jeffs.

i would sure like to know if any of the fathers of these many children, who are receiving benefits of unwed mothers, are being investigated to find out why they are not caring for their own kids. if you cant feed them, dont breed them. social security payments, medicaid payments, food stamp payment, etc. why am i, as a taxpayer, having to pay for all these children who have fathers with enough money in their pockets to pay off the church every month and make jeffs a wealthy man.

This is NOTHING but smoke and mirrors by Mark Shurtleff to give the appearance that he's doing something during an election year. Do we really have a more two-faced politician in our state? It was just a month ago that he held a meeting with 300 FLDS in St. George and assured them that he wasn't going to come after them.

"Its unbelievable that a government agency is targeting a specific religion."

The government isn't targeting a specific religion, goverment is targeting the illegal practices of a group of people who have decided that they are above the law and can do whatever they please, or are told to do by their "prophet," whether it's legal or not.

Hiding behind the excuse that this is simply what we believe doesn't make it right.

If we start allowing personal religious beliefs to trump the law, we might as well abolish all laws, because all anyone would have to do to get away with breaking any law would be to start their own religion and then declare that they were no longer going to follow a certain law because it violated their religious beliefs.

Trust me, I'm no fan of people who suck the welfare system. However, being on welfare isn't against the law, nor is it any reason to target a religion. If you want to make welfare illegal then go about it legally; going after the FLDS because they're on welfare is wrong.

PS Did you know the YFZ was not on welfare? I had thought they were until I actually did some research...

It's so petty to target a peaceful group to pull public attention from problems that really should be being addressed like illegal immigration, drugs, and secular violence.
The problem is that they are running out of cheap buzzwords like "compound" and "child abuse".

I know, maybe they could start calling them a "terrorist organization" or a "hate group".

The problem authorities have is there is no "fear" of the FLDS. If they can somehow generate some "fear", then they can throw millions at the nonexistant problem while the masses cheer.

I wounder when those of the Islamic faith start to practice polygamy in the US if they will be prosecuted?

I agree with leelee (above). While we cannot condone what the state authorities and CPS did, that does not nulify the underlying issues within the FLDS. Give it time - let the authorities "work together" in completing their investigation and bring to justice those who have committed real and veifiable crimes.

I think as long as they are doing what they do with adult women, who are we to say they are wrong?? Betty, your right why are we paying for these peoples children? Oh yeah, America is about helping the poor. If you look at it, a lot more people who are not FLDS receive food stamps and welfare. Lets not single these people out because they have different views then some of us! Seems like LDS people in Utah have such a hard time accepting people that are different.
PS You want to get mad about something, Ask your stake president how much welfare he is giving out in his stake, the number is astounding!! And this is our tithing money!!!

And it's not about targeting a "specific religion" it's about targeting specific crimes! It's about time!

In answer to your question, the conservative columnist Mark Steyn noted that if it's stump-toothed old white guys marrying teenage girls, then that's disgusting and needs to be stamped out.

If it's Muslim men importing child brides and having them circumcised, well then that's "celebrating diversity".

@Southern Utah Resident:

The meeting from a month ago was of other Mormon Polygamists and to my knowledge the FLDS was not represented there. What I saw reported on it was a promise not to go after polygamy and to try and get the status reduced to a misdemeanor (?) instead of a felony. His promise was only for the crime of polygamy itself. Child abusers, etc will still be prosecuted where found.