is marrying off 15yr olds and multiple wifes a big deal?

[Smalcald]

The reason the law is written as it is, is that indeed there is a HUGE difference between a 17 year old and a 15 year old, and an even huger difference between a 17 year old and a 13 year old. The fact is a molester is any adult who has had sex with someone under the age of 16, period. If you do that you are a child molester and deserve to be registered as such and deserve to be removed from society and kept away from kids, you probably would go see Chris Hanson. Sorry, but that is the law and it is a good one.

Now, I am concerned about state power in all of these situations. I have always been uncomfortable with the state prosecuting people because of their religious practices even if I disagree with them. For some Mormons polygamy is a religious imperative, I think they are wrong obviously, however if the women and men are over the age of consent and marry without coercion I honestly don't think they should be hounded by the state.

But the fact is no normal 18 year old without coercion is going to want to be wife number 5 of some 45 year old creep. Thus the need to coerce children and force them into these harems.

[Smalcald]

i never said it was honkey cool!!!! just wondering what the big deal was..and havent been to impressed with the reasons yet...

When you married your wife, was it an arranged marriage? Did someone tell the two of you that God wanted you to marry, and then pushed you into it, or was it done willingly?

The problem here is more than age. It is the fact these young girls are being forced into marriages they don't wish to be in, at least in some cases.

However, given their maturity, even if they were asked they wouldn't have had the capacity for making that kind of decision.

Exactly.... you are right that's why i dont think its as a big deal as everyone is making it. Happens all the time. seems like most people get married way earlier than they are ready for

It is a big deal because they were children. They were not 17 year olds making what could be a hasty decision. They were in 6th, 7th and 8th graders marrying 50 year old men who already had four other wives and were probably their uncle.

[OneLight]

Let me try this again ...

Merin, do you follow the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints?

[Guest man]

Let me try this again ...

Merin, do you follow the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints?

Perhaps he does belong to this sect.

Wouldn't be the first one to pass through here.

[Emily~Anne]

Wow there is a lot of hate towards these people that i'm (assuming) you know not much about....

Hatred would be to ignore the abuse.

[OneLight]

Let me try this again ...

Merin, do you follow the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints?

Perhaps he does belong to this sect.

Wouldn't be the first one to pass through here.

You are right. He would not be the first, but allow Merin to speak for himself. To better understand him, I asked this question.

[Merin]

Let me try this again ...

Merin, do you follow the beliefs of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints?

No I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ sorry I had to get ready for work.

[Merin]

word of faith comunity church its in Fresno ca. USA

[Merin]

not sure what full gospel means...

[ayin jade]

I am truly distressed at the taking apart of these families!!! If marring 15yr olds and having more than one wife is the worst thing going on there... Geez bring their families back together!!!! Please share with me the terriblness of these things because I guess j am missing something.

I live in Arizona, where many of these polygamist cults are still around. Ive heard horror stories about the girls in this cult. They are beaten down mentally and physically. This isnt about breaking up families, its about breaking a mental crushing on these girls who are taught that they are nothing more than brood mares for whichever relative their father gives them to as a "wife".

Dont believe me? Check out Mike Watkiss' Polygamist Diaries. He is a renowned local reporter with a national if not international reputation. He has covered all the polygamist stories and has a unique perspective in that he came from that background himself. Link here. Also check out Tapestry Against Polygamy, an organization that exists to help fleeing polygamist wives get a normal life. Link here. Then tell me its just tearing these poor families apart to seperate them, if you can.

Just one fragment of a story from them:

The tragic experience of Rachael Strong is just one example of Utah Attorney General's federally funded non-safety net. When Tapestry took the case of Rachael Strong, a twenty year old, who was the seventeenth wife of her stepfather (a well-known polygamist leader James Harmston) to both County Attorney Ross Blackham and Attorney General Mark Shurtleff they refused to prosecute because Rachael was over the age of consent. Rachael, who was ten-years-old when she was brought into a polygamous cult was groomed by women on the sex offender list to marry her own step-father. Rachel's case is not an anomaly. Rachael's story speaks for the thousands of trapped girls within polygamy who have no choice or voice. Link here