FLDS:"It's a little bit like asking a Christian to give up Christianity to get their children back."

[rainbow4321]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/052508polygamists.3b50160.html

Child welfare officials were up against a culture of secrecy, unlimited resources and sect members well-schooled in the art of misleading authorities as they tried to build their case for removing hundreds of children from a West Texas polygamist enclave, religious experts and former adherents say.

Thursday's appeals court decision that many if not all of the children removed from the Yearning For Zion ranch last month must be returned to their parents highlights how difficult it is to build a child welfare case against a fundamentalist religious group, sect investigators say – particularly without a vocal victim.

<snip>

"Based on both the children's and women's repeated deceptions, lies, and misinformation, the trial court had no reliable evidence" on the identities of the children or their parents, the state's attorneys wrote. The appellate court's ruling last week centered on a general lack of evidence.

<snip>

While some kind of "cooperative" community policing model might work, he doesn't foresee sect members changing their lifestyle. "The belief of the people is that religion is not the problem, bias against religion is the problem," Mr. Jessop said. "It's a little bit like asking a Christian to give up Christianity to get their children back."

[Warpy]

1. I'm sure a sect of Aztecs

who sacrificed people by cutting their hearts out every day so the sun would come up the next day would feel the same way.

Sometimes the larger culture has to step in when a cult is hurting their people.

I don't think I'm alone in saying the FLDS cult would be peachy if the prophets would stop raping little girls and throwing their little boys away because they don't want the competition.

The great thing about this country is that you can be as nutty as you want to be (and nothing looks nuttier than somebody else's religion) as long as you don't use it to hurt other people--especially children.

[kestrel91316]

5. Why don't some people get how their religion ends where someone else's body begins??

Sigh.

[fasttense]

2. Last time I looked, polygamy was illegal.

These people are criminals.

[Warren Stupidity]

4. They can't officially enter into plural marriages.

And they don't. They get one marriage license from the state, if any, and their other domestic partners are married only within their church. Now what is your problem?

[kestrel91316]

6. Some of us have a problem with the fathers who, if they love their

damilies so famned much, won't support them financially and expect the taxpayers to do it. You know - their proudly stated policy of deliberately "bleeding the beast"?

Nobody here would care one whit about the FLDS if they:
A) Kept their filthy hands off underage women
B) Didn't collect welfare from the state and instead demanded their men support their own children fully
C) Didn't force out most of the adolescent boys because they threaten the whole scam

I don't expect you to agree. We all know YOUR mind is hermetically sealed shut WRT the FLDS.

[Warren Stupidity]

7. Well that is completely non-responsive.

The person I responded to claimed that these people are criminals because they are polygamous. That claim is false. That was the total content of my post. Your response is an interesting exercise in strawman idiocy.

Where these people specifically abused children, charges should be brought against them. Where they have broken other laws, why then those laws should be enforced. Where they simply live a lifestyle that you disapprove of, you should leave them alone.

[MuseRider]

3. Well yes

considering they ARE Christians.

This is going to get very interesting but in the meantime I am very sad and worried about the women and children.