Posted on 04/05/2008 6:01:28 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Standoff emerges at polygamist retreat
8 minutes ago
Ambulances are being sent to a polygamist compound in West Texas as authorities prepare "for the worst" in a conflict with members of the compound.
Prosecutor Allison Palmer says sect leaders Saturday refused to let authorities search a temple for a 16-year-old member who reported being physically abused.
Palmer tells the San Angelo Standard-Times that medical workers are being sent "in case this were to a go in a way that no one wants."
She says that law enforcers are "preparing for the worst."
A search warrant authorized troopers to enter the retreat run by the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They are looking for evidence of a marriage between the girl and a 50-year-old man.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
There is no age threshold at which rape becomes legal. Consent is not a meaningful term in these communities, where girls grow up with no contact at all with the outside world, and no exposure to the idea that maybe God doesn’t want you to follow your the orders of your “prophet” when he orders you to submit to being raped by the middle aged man he picked out for you. The way it works is the girls are taught that the outside world is a horrible, sinful place, and any acceptance of its ways, or any failure to obey the orders of your prophet or your assigned husband will consign you to hell. Then you get raped and impregnated by the time you’re 13 or 14, and by the time things are bad enough that you start questioning whether you really believe all this crap, you have a baby or two, no clue of how you might support yourself much less your children in the scary sinful outside world. You think about making a run for it, but realize you’d have to abandon your children — you physically have no chance of escaping with them (even escaping by yourself is an iffy proposition). So you stay. What’s that you were saying about consent?
Called being a bigamist.....the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. However these people don’t look at it as that. They marry as many wives as they can & most are supported by welfare.
That's what I fear. I am praying it is not the case.
Perfect "political" timing should Romney be considered for a VP slot?
"The investigation began with a call alleging physical abuse of a 16-year-old girl living there-so far not found."
Jeffs was sentenced to two consecutive sentences of five years to life in prison in Utah for being an accomplice to the rape of a 14-year-old girl who wed her cousin in an arranged marriage in 2001.
In Arizona, Jeffs is charged as an accomplice with four counts each of incest and sexual conduct with a minor stemming from two arranged marriages between teenage girls and their older male relatives. He is jailed in Kingman, Ariz., awaiting trial.
The government has no business interfering with polygamy or polyandry practiced by consenting adults. That’s a matter of basic freedom, and to some people, of religious belief. However, what goes on in these fundamentalist Mormon cults has nothing to do with adults freely choosing to live in polygamous or polyandrous relationships. It has everything to do with adult men using religion as an excuse for raping adolescent girls. Let’s not confuse the two issues just because the sicko rapist men of this “church” say we should.
Very eerie.
The members of this cult are under suspicious of child abuse, a serious matter, but not on the level of a terrorist cell. I know some self-styled "operators" are thrilled with the prospect of trying out the expensive toys while acting out a hot assault on American civilians tangos, but hopefully some things have been learned since the Clintoon disasters.
uh, they will convert or kill us.
As a matter of fact I did. Polygamy when entered into by consenting adults is none of the Governments business.
How do you feel about human sacrifice?
Since that's an act of murder, I'm pretty much against it.
Child rape?
Rape is an act of violence whether it's done to an adult or a child. So I'm pretty much against that, too.
Where do you draw the line?
I thought I made that clear. But it seems you need an even simpler explanation. So here it is:
Adults should be able to willingly, consentually enter into whatever 'marriage' arrangments they chose without any interference from the Government whatsoever.
L
Agreed.
However, what goes on in these fundamentalist Mormon cults has nothing to do with adults freely choosing to live in polygamous or polyandrous relationships.
I've seen no evidence of that in this case. But if it's true then these guys belong UNDER the prison.
L
These “polygamist” sects are havens for pedophiles and abuse of young women.
Read an excellent book :Under the Banner of Heaven”.
How do authorities “gather the facts” when all the girls are brainwashed and prevented from having contact with or knowledge of the outside world? It’s amazing that this one girl managed to phone for help. So now if authorities go into the community and see a very young girl who looks very pregnant and they ask her “How old are you?” and she says “18” and all the adults confirm this lie, then what? Do they not take the girl out of the compound where she can be questioned away from the influence of the cult, and reassured that she doesn’t have to go back if she doesn’t want to? And what about all the obviously 13-14 year old girls who are “married” to older men? They’re living in homes with a bunch of wives of all ages and a huge number of children of all ages. They’ll alltell visiting authorities “he’s my father” if the church leaders told them to, and they’ll all say “no, he’s never had sex with me” if the church leaders told them to. So then what? Just leave them there, pretending the complaints of forced adolescent marriage and sex have been investigated and determined to be unfounded?
Then prosecute them for those crimes.
But making polygamy illegal between consenting adults is not only stupid, it's a blatant violation of the First Amendment.
L
Don’t worry, W has no intention of burning children alive as did Hillary, Bill and Janet.
In your world does that mean two men and one woman can marry?
Those religious freaks.
The evidence was trotted out in the court proceedings that resulted in the conviction of the FLDS “prophet” Warren Jeffs, for the specific act of forcing a 14 year old girl to marry her older cousin. Much of the testimony centered on the fact that given her sheltered/brainwashed upbringing, the girl felt she had no choice, and that when she went to the prophet after being married and raped, to beg to be released from the marriage, he said no and sent her back to her husband. This is the same group.
It sure does in mine. However, in my world, the government has no business registering, licensing, or defining “marriage”.
I watched Waco, Branch-Dividian compound burn down while at work on my birthday; McVeigh pulled his stunt on a later anniversary; I much better liked it when it was just the shot-heard-round-the-world; just another reason to hate birthdays, I guess.
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