You obviously are missing the whole point. Child abuse is the issue. The call ended up being a hoax. And yes the girl should not go unpunished for not only this hoax, but for the many false calls she made previous to this one.

But when this call was received, someone had act. And there is enough past evidence from x-polygamists that could prove that this call and the abuse allegations could be true.

The woman who made the hoax call is an escaped polygamist and there are also 6 of the women from the sect staying in a safe house who may be supplying some very crucial information as to the inner-workings of this sect. The truth will eventually come forth.

Quoted Text

Time to end abuse, welfare fraud in polygamist clans

By Scott N. Howell
Deseret Morning News
Sen. Scott Howell, D-Granite, is the Minority Leader of the Utah Senate.

SALT LAKE CITY - The first time I was personally introduced to the horrors and injustice that polygamy creates, I felt stunned. Immediately, I took it upon myself to take action against the serious abuses polygamy directs specifically toward women and children. Not only does this issue harm its participants, it also affects all Utahns by tarnishing this state's otherwise wonderful image. As we enter the new millennium, it is time to address these serious issues and wipe our slate clean.

Polygamy has been handled and clearly drafted, at least within the law books. The Utah Constitution states "polygamous or plural marriages are forever prohibited."The obvious lack of enforcement hurts our state on two separate levels. First, the lifelong negative ramifications caused by abuse to both the women and children involved in polygamy are devastating. The personal accounts of women courageous enough to leave such harmful relationships are appalling. Common circumstances faced by female members include complete control over their private lives and thoughts, manipulation, pressure to participate in improper physical relations, threats and intimidation, guilt, gender discrimination and isolation. Even under such circumstances, it is difficult to leave due to their isolation, which causes an inability to adapt to the real world.

The children of these "families" are the greatest victims. Without a choice, they must bear the harmful repercussions of their involvement. Common atrocities enacted toward the children include both beatings and inappropriate physical relations, in addition to the denial of a proper education and appropriate medical attention. The very basic of human and civil rights are often denied polygamous children and women.

The most recent publicized case involved the Kingston family's attempt to marry a 16-year-old child to her uncle. Her effort to escape the situation was promptly accompanied by a violent, life-threatening beating. The child's reporting of the incident was the only means that allowed the state to step in. One of my colleagues suggested we offer polygamists an apology. I suggest we apologize to all the people who will never enjoy the full benefits of society, due to our complete failure of enforcing the law in the attempt to curb harmful and illegal polygamous relations.

Second, polygamists abuse the welfare system. Polygamist families are taught that welfare was instituted by God to assist them. Thus, wives who are not technically married as the first wife file for welfare by stating that their husband has left them and refuses to pay child support. In effect, polygamy is cheating the honest citizens of this state out of millions of tax dollars.

These intolerable acts and frauds must be stopped. There has not been a single prosecution against polygamy in the past 40 years. This allocates a message of acceptance to all polygamists and the various crimes they commit. I have attempted and will continue to support legislation that will direct $500,000 toward the prosecution of crimes in polygamous communities.

Opponents argue that such legislation is too expensive and not worth the tax money provided by law-abiding citizens. To counter that argument, I say taxpayers will save money because such prosecution will stop fraudulent welfare claims, which cost the state millions of dollars.

Opponents also argue that if such prosecution were successful, it would be impossible to place all polygamists in jail. I agree, but the option of taking some action and observing positive results tremendously outweighs inaction. The implementation of these ideas will not solve the problem, but they will bring us closer to the solution. Together we can continuously take small steps down the path that will finally end the abusive and illegal relationships of polygamy.

deseretnews.com
Originally published February 6, 2000

Now we just spread them all over the country and call them "my baby's daddy" or "my baby's mommy"-----or flavor flave or MTV real world etc etc.....indoctrination is all over.....the NYS lottery is now $10million dollars........see, it works all over......we are just now removing a wart of society that exist between sea to shining sea......America the Beautiful.......

Quoted from JoAnn

You obviously are missing the whole point. Child abuse is the issue. The call ended up being a hoax. And yes the girl should not go unpunished for not only this hoax, but for the many false calls she made previous to this one.

If child abuse is the issue and not polygamy, then let's stop labeling them as a polygamist  community and just call them a community. Since we can agree that polygamy is acceptable in certain circumstances.  Then let's treat them like we would any other community where sexual abuse is committed.  Find the one committing the abuse and arrest them.  Let's not take down the whole community assuming everybody's guilty.   After all, statistics show that 13% or (134 out of 1000) of black women between the ages of 15 and 19 become pregnant.  You wouldn't suggest raiding those predominant black communities and taking all their children into state custody because a phone call was made claiming a single instance of abuse,  just because statistics show a high number of underage pregnancy.  That would be absurd.

The government assumed guilt with no evidence to back it up.

Quoted Text

FLDS: Mothers, children separated
In an emotional display, FLDS kids are taken, put into foster care
By Christopher Smart
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 04/25/2008 02:57:42 AM MDT

SAN ANGELO, Texas - Emotions were frayed Thursday as tots from the FLDS polygamous clan were torn from their mothers in the biggest custody case in Texas history.
    Texas Child Protective Services officials said 127 women and children left the San Angelo Coliseum where they had been temporarily housed after a raid on the sect's YFZ Ranch earlier this month.
    Darrell Azar, spokesman for CPS, gave this count:
    * 63 children were moved from the coliseum into foster care.
    * 64 women also left the coliseum, 17 of them are mothers with babies under the age of 12 months. Those 17 women went into a care facility where they could be with their babies.
    * 47 women were separated from their children. Of that 47, 40 went to a separate location and only seven returned home.
    * 260 children remain at the coliseum and will be moved out in coming days.
    * 111 children were removed Tuesday.
    Azar said the women and children who were separated became very distressed and tearful. He said workers waited 45 minutes, then began to move them out. The children's ages were not given.
    Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, who represents some FLDS members, said mothers were told to gather together inside the coliseum at 9 a.m. but were not told why. Once there, CPS said children 13 months or
older were being removed from them. One mother had her 13-month-old daughter literally taken out of her hands, the legal organization said.
    Two women who returned to the FLDS ranch, Velvet, 31, and Ruth, 34, later gave tearful accounts of how their young children were taken from them in what they described as a "cold" manner.
    Velvet, who did not give a last name, said she has a 13-month-old daughter, Velvet Rose, who is still breast-feeding.
    "I don't know where she is," Velvet said fighting back tears. "She's never had a bottle before. I need her back."
    Ruth, who provided no last name, said she has twins who are just older than 12 months, as well as two other children ages 2 and 4.
    She said she tried to explain to CPS workers that Judge Barbara Walther had said that women with children between the ages of 12 and 24 months should be able to visit them frequently for breast-feeding and other nurturing.
    "But they said, no. They said if you go to the shelter, there is a chance you can visit them. But if you go anywhere else, you'll never see them again."
    Ruth said, as her older children were being taken away, "They cried 'Mother, Mother, don't let them take us.' We want to be with you."
    As the first group of buses pulled away from the coliseum at 10:30 a.m., a woman on a bus held out a sign that read, "SOS. Mothers separated. Help."
    Another yelled out, "We're being kidnapped."
    Azar, the CPS spokesman, said separating mothers from children is always a difficult thing. "But this was in the best interest of the children."
    Allegations that the women were threatened with not being able to see their children again if they went back to the ranch are untrue, Azar said.
    In addition, he said CPS had identified 25 minor females who had represented themselves as adults. How that information changes the tally of who are children and who are adults is unknown.
    Asked if investigators had found Sarah, the girl who made the telephone call to a crisis hot line that triggered the raid on April 3, Azar said he had no information on that. However, he added, "Once we got out to the ranch, we found a number of young ladies who were in the same condition as Sarah."
    As to reports that at least one distress call came from a cell phone used by a Colorado Springs, Colo., woman with a history of making hoax calls, Azar said, "It doesn't matter whether this began as a hoax or not" because of what investigators found on the ranch.
    Stephanie Goodman, an attorney representing several of the FLDS women, said they were not allowed to contact legal counsel before making their decisions of where to go Thursday. That is in violation of their constitutional rights, she said.
    "I'm sure there are some safety issues here, but there should be some effort made for these women to meet with their attorneys before being made to make this kind of choice."
  

Then may I suggest you go to their website and donate your money or time to help their cause. Maybe you can help bring the children back into the fold of this great community. One that will shelter them from those nasty, social entities such as the right to vote informatively, the right of free speech, the right to proper medical care, the right to choose education, the right to employment, the right to not live on welfare, the right to choose their own spouse, the right to pro-create if desired. Basically this entire nasty society of CHOICE.

I'm sure you have already donated money to help unite these poor mothers and their children. Money well spent in light of the other nasty things you could be spending it on.  Or maybe there are some great attorneys in our nasty society that would be willing to donate their time to help their cause. But then again, I'm sure the husbands of these women and the fathers of these children are doing these wonderful, responsible things already.

http://captivefldschildren.org/

Nah...... I don't need to donate money to the cause, there are plenty of lawyers out there doing it pro bono.  I'm just attempting to point out the governments violation of these people's constitutional rights to those in this community.

What I find perplexing is that many on this site and on Schenectady's site fought very hard against the "Kosuir Law" which was an attempt at a solution to protect children from KNOWN, CONVICTED, sex offenders by not allowing them to live within 2000 feet from places where children gather.  Sounds sensible, I know not a perfect solution, but an attempt.  Used as a political football to get Mr. Amedore elected.   People were actually going to bat for these sex offender, saying that the law was illegal and violated THEIR constitutional rights.  I don't think people really cared about the sex offenders rights, they just didn't want to take a chance these offenders end up in their suburban backyards.(NIMBY)  Nobody cares about those children who are put at risk on a daily basis in the City of Schenectady, because they're poor and often of color, and the solution might effect their communities.

I would be curious to find out what Mr. Amedore's position is on the Texas polygamy raid.  After all, Mr. Amedore was elected in large part, of the people's opposition of Kosiur's sex offender legislation.  I think Mr. Amedore claimed that it's a state problem, and not a local problem after being elected.  Most likely that's because he understands that the people's opposition to the law wasn't looking for a solution, or even cared about the kids at risk,  they just wanted the law repealed so it didn't effect their suburban communities.

If this FLDS compound were located in Schenectady, and if the raid to protect the children meant that these sex offender would end up living next door to those in suburbia.  I'll bet the county meeting would packed with NIMBY'S fighting for the constitutional rights of those people.  Not necessarily caring for those people's rights, but if it means it won't disrupt their lifestyles or communities, then the ends justify the means.

Quoted Text

Polygamists' children speak
August 21, 2006 - Brooke Adams, The Salt Lake Tribune




Youth from polygamous communities spoke of family, friendships, faith and their hopes for the future in a historic gathering Saturday in Salt Lake City in defense of the banned life-style.

They offered one another encouragement, provided glimpses into their lives and appealed to the public to stop fearing their families.

"We are not brainwashed, mistreated, neglected, malnourished, illiterate, defective or dysfunctional," said Jessica, 17. "We are useful, responsible, productive members of society."

About 300 people from four fundamentalist Mormon communities attended the rally held at the Salt Lake City-County Building.

"I was so proud of them. I had no idea what to expect. They wrote all their own stuff," said Joe, a Salt Lake City polygamist whose children were among the 15 speakers. "It was inspiring. There is something about seeing young people being actively involved and speaking up for their rights and constitutional freedoms."

Principle Voices, a pro-polygamy advocacy group, and a coalition of polygamous groups organized the event to counter negative portrayals of the life-style offered by women and children who've fled some communities, particularly the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

The FLDS, based in the twin towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz., has been under fire by government and anti-polygamy activists for sanctioning underage marriages and forcing hundreds of youth, particularly boys, out of the community for minor infractions. The FLDS did not participate in the rally.

One speaker said most of what is shown in the media does not reflect her own reality.

"I have never experienced any of these horror stories I have heard in the media," said Katherine, 16. "Nor do I know anyone who has. I was raised in the Salt Lake Valley by parents that gave me a wonderful childhood, teaching me strong, moral beliefs about freedom of choice and respect for others."

A public rally featuring youth is a first for Utah's polygamous communities,whose members tend to keep family connections secret to avoid government prosecution and persecution from disapproving employers, neighbors and, for children, peers.

For that reason, those who spoke - and many who offered comments afterward - used only their first names. To signal unity, they also did not disclose their group associations.

Similar gatherings have occurred just twice. In January 1870, some 6,000 women gathered at the Salt Lake Tabernacle for what they dubbed the "Great Indignation Meeting," to protest anti-polygamy laws. In 2001, a mixed group of fundamentalists lobbied the Utah Legislature as it debated marriage laws.

Saturday's event, however, also was momentous in bringing together four major fundamentalist Mormon groups: the Davis County Cooperative Society, Centennial Park over the border in Arizona, the Apostolic United Brethren and independent fundamentalists. The groups have carved out different approaches to fundamentalism and plural marriage since The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints publicly abandoned polygamy in 1890.

"They have always had common ground in terms of their reverence for the old-time religion of pioneer Mormonism and their determination to continue plural marriage, but the authority claims that have divided them have made them live separate ecclesiastical and social lives," said Michael D. Quinn, an independent historian.

Rally organizers expect bridge-building to continue, with other gatherings and cross-community service projects already under discussion.

"This is the dream I had back in 2001 when our work started," said Linda Kelsch, a co-founder of Principle Voices. "It's an important step forward."

Some children said it was fun to be exposed to others who have grown up in families like theirs.

"I thought it was way cool to see other youth stand up and talk about their experiences," said Katie, 13. "I didn't know there were that many polygamists."

The rally drew criticism from anti-polygamy groups, who suggested it be ignored and said organizers were manipulating youth to promote the illegal life-style while downplaying abuses they say are inherent in it.

"We have concerns that the children are being exploited to serve the polygamists' political agenda to legalize or decriminalize polygamy," said Vicky Prunty, director of Tapestry Against Polygamy.

The rally drew local as well as national media attention, from CNN to MTV, which talked to teens about their views of the modern-music scene. Two women also filmed the crowd for costume designers from the hit HBO Series "Big Love."

Paul Murphy, spokesman for Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, attended the rally "to learn." A handful of curious members of the broader community also stopped by.

What Tyler, 19, wanted them and others to know was that he was making his own decisions about his lifestyle.

"I have lived in a polygamist culture for most of my life," he said. "I have made the choice to someday live this principle and I don't expect you to understand the reasons for this choice. But I do expect you to defend my right to make that choice."

Parents said seeing their children speak out publicly was wonderful - and bittersweet.

"I felt like they were saying what I wanted to say my whole life," said Carlene Cannon, member of the coalition and Davis County Cooperative.

Quoted Text

ABC Analyst Suggests Polygamy Ban Unconstitutional
April 12, 2008 - Mark Finkelstein

You might think MSM support for the raid by Texas state authorities on the polygamist compound in Eldorado would be a slam dunk. After all, the religion involved is the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Not just Mormons: fundamentalists Mormons! Throw in patriarchy and allegations of exploitation of young women, and surely the feminist-inspired liberal media would be cheering on the bust.

But not so fast. Support this intervention, and perhaps a precedent is established for restrictions on unorthodox family arrangements of a more PC tint.

Take the comments of Jonathan Turley on today's Good Morning America. The George Washington law school professor went so far as to strongly suggest that the ban on polygamy is unconstitutional. And co-anchor Bill Weir was anything but unsympathetic to Turley's arguments.

BILL WEIR: Talk about just polygamy, equating polygamy, with child abuse. That is really a legal thicket there, isn't it?

JONATHAN TURLEY: It is. You know, they've got to be very careful. They can't start saying we're going to raid every polygamous compound. Because that's like going into a Catholic church and demanding to talk to every altar boy because some priest committed crimes.
There's nothing in polygamy that requires a child bride or child abuse or child rape. Warren Jeffs, in his cult-like operation, were extremists, from what I can see. That doesn't mean this doesn't occur in other polygamous compounds but this country's had a very difficult time with polygamy, some of us seriously question whether it is constitutional to outlaw polygamy without having proof of abuse of children. The Supreme Court did that in the 1800s. And many of us have questioned that. Because consenting adults are usually allowed to pick their life style particularly if it's religious-based.
And many polygamists don't even have children in the household. So this is going to reignite a lot of that controversy. Because some feel that by criminalizing polygamy, you forced it to go underground. Pushed these the people to the very outsides of society and that has made this all the more difficult.
WEIR: And makes it more, easier for them to engage in illegal activities in those compounds.

TURLEY: Perhaps so.

I feel like I'm in a revolving door!

Just take a walk on 'the hill' or pretty much anywhere outside the mainstreet of Schenectady and there are 'communities' that run just like the polygamist communities....only those folks aren't married...but, my 'baby's daddy' has his other 'baby's mama' at his house, and that 'baby's mama' has 'my baby's daddy' brothers baby too......and the list is endless......

All someone has to do is call CPS and suggest child abuse, and they would be there too.

I just read on the Drudge Report, http://www.drudgereport.com, that 31 of the 53 girls between 14 to 17 yrs of age taken from the Texas sect have either already had children or are pregnant. If that doesn't constitute child abuse I don't know what is. I've thought all along that when the adults in this sect wouldn't answer questions pertaining to the children having children something was very wrong going on in there.

Thanks for the update. The media seemed to drop this story like hot potato! And yes it is child abuse plain and simple.