ST. GEORGE – Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff told a crowd of approximately 300 during a town hall meeting at the Dixie Center on Thursday that the state does not have plans to follow Texas’ lead by conducting a raid of polygamist communities.
“We assure you we are not going to plan a raid to end polygamy. We don’t believe that is the answer,” Shurtleff said at the fourth annual town hall meeting to discuss issues within polygamist communities.
The meeting included a panel discussion including Shurtleff, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, Centennial Park resident Don Timpson, Utah Safety Net Coordinator Paul Murphy, and David Lujan, an Arizona state representative.
Members of different polygamist groups, friends and former polygamists, as well as members of the general public, attended the meeting.
Shurtleff said both he and Goddard work to investigate individual problems when it comes to child abuse and underage marriages.
“When we have individual problems, we’ll continue to deal with them individually,” he said. “If victims fear government more than they fear their leaders, they will never come forward.”
When asked by Shurtleff how many attendees had relatives who lived within the Yearning for Zion compound in El Dorado, Texas, many hands filled the air.
Many also raised their hands when asked if they would like to gain custody of their under-age relatives taken away after Texas officials raided the compound and placed hundreds in foster care.
Shurtleff also said polygamy is not protected under the First Amendment of the Constitution, and is against the law.
However, the state does not have the resources to go after offenders, he said. People could be charged with polygamy if they are being charged with other offenses and if proof exists, Shurtleff said.
Attendees had the opportunity to ask the panel questions or to have the moderator read a question for them.
Questions varied from asking if polygamist families could legally act as a foster home to why Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Shurtleff have endorsed a federal task force investigation into select polygamist communities.
Polygamist families can act as adoptive families, Shurtleff said. He also said the task force would be used to investigate federal crimes like tax evasion, welfare fraud and using child labor within the FLDS community.
A “credible source” alerted Shurtleff of such possible offenses when Warren Jeffs was the community’s leader, he said.
Timpson also outlined several actions he said would benefit polygamist communities.
He said the state should consider revising its laws against the practice.
“We know fundamentalist Mormons are not going to give up the practice of plural marriage,” he said. “What this country needs more of is marriage. Not less.”
Timpson also said every child should be guaranteed a quality education, and that states should be “more active” in overseeing home-schooled programs and schools within polygamist societies.
He also urged those practicing polygamy to stop isolating themselves and educate their children until they reach 18.
Mary Allred was one of the hundreds who attended the town hall meeting.
She said many people within polygamist communities are misunderstood.
“A good percentage of people I have met (who practice polygamy) have high integrity and moral standards,” she said.
Allred said she would like the general society to remember polygamists are people, too, and should be treated with respect.
You must log in to post a comment.