My thoughts on Polygamy and the ACLU

The following is a quote from a CNN news article posted at approximately 11:30 pm Sunday April 20, 2008. The article is about the ACLU’s comments regarding the removal of over 400 children from the Fundamental Latter Day Saints Yearning for Zion compound in Texas. While there is no question in my mind that the ACLU has done a good deal of valuable and necessary work to protect the rights of poorly represented Americans, I simply think that they have crossed over into the Twilight zone on this issue. The quote follows:

“The ACLU said it had a representative at the court hearing and the organization was concerned about human rights violations.

"While we acknowledge that Judge Walther's task may be unprecedented in Texas judicial history, we question whether the current proceedings adequately protect the fundamental rights of the mothers and children," Terri Burke, executive director of the ACLU of Texas, said in a written statement.

"As this situation continues to unfold, we are concerned that the constitutional rights that all Americans rely upon and cherish -- that we are secure in our homes, that we may worship as we please and hold our places of worship sacred, and that we may be with our children absent evidence of imminent danger -- have been threatened," Burke said. “

I find it hard to believe that the ACLU wants to get involved because they believe rights have been violated and that the children were in no imminent danger. If I understand what happened correctly the state of Texas pursued an anonymous call telling them that there was a teenage girl who had been married off to a man in his 50’s. When they went to the compound to investigate, they found several teenage girls, either pregnant or already mothers, claiming to be married (if not legally, spiritually) to older men.

Again, I fail to see where there is a violation of someone’s rights. The state was given a tip about certain unlawful activity on this compound and they found exactly the issues that they were tipped off about. Hmm, let me think. I have an idea that will maybe help those in the ACLU to understand the imminent danger.

In order to make their decision easier we should first select all of the females who work directly for the ACLU or women who are married to men who work for the ACLU. Next, we will bus them down to the Yearning for Zion compound and have them assigned as wives to some of the men there. It would be best if we could have them assigned to men who are not perceived to be in good standing with the cult so they can be reassigned to other men when their spiritual husbands are kicked out of the group. After all, we would not want them to miss out on heaven for eternity because they are not in service to a man, would we? Maybe loveless marriages to men who perceive a woman’s place as a servant and sex toy will wake them up.

But if it doesn’t, we will also allow these women to bring their children along. The women will have the firsthand experience of watching their new husbands train their sons to expect women to act as servants for them and learn that it is perfectly ok for a man in his 40’s, 50’s, 60’s to take a 13 year old girl as his 5^th or 6^th bride. The women will also be able to partake in making the decision as to which middle aged to geriatric man will be the appropriate spiritual husband to their own pubescent daughters.

Well now, let’s see. Anyone in the ACLU want to take me up on this offer and make the pilgrimage down to FLDS compound Yearning for Zion? I am sure that they will be able to make a much more enlightened decision regarding representing the cult when they have taken part in it!