Religion no excuse for crimes
 
Opinion
The Spectrum
 
Instead of basking in that glow, the state is saddled with the reputation of being a place where you can get 5.5 wives but only 3.2 beer.

Long ago, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the state's dominant religion, condemned polygamy.

As with any religion, there are sects with their own doctrines. Such is the case with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, which embraces plural marriage. The First Amendment guarantees the right to worship freely. It does not grant adult men the right to have sex with underage girls, illegally collect welfare for the children born from polygamy or for any church to inflict its beliefs on others.

Mark Shurtleff, the Utah Attorney General, estimates there are 40,000 polygamists in his state, yet prosecution is rare even though many who have fled the FLDS church allege that incest, statutory rape, underage marriage, welfare fraud, tax evasion, trafficking of minors across borders for the purpose of sex and other heinous crimes occur regularly within the little border towns of Hildale and Colorado City, and other communities where church followers have taken sanctuary.

Warren Jeffs, the spiritual leader of the FLDS church, is ducking the cops. He's been charged with two counts of sexual assault on a minor and one count of conspiracy to commit sexual conduct on a minor. The feds also have a warrant on him for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

This guy's reportedly been sighted a couple of times in the state, most recently in the Southern Utah region. However, one county sheriff refused to knock on the door of a house where a tipster said the church leader was hiding because he didn't have probable cause. If three state and one federal felony warrant isn't probable cause, what is?

State and local prosecutors won't file charges against most polygamists, claiming it would put a strain on the courts and force thousands to seek welfare assistance.

It doesn't wash. In 2002, there were more people in Colorado City on the welfare rolls than the census list. There are other abuses such as furniture and other school supplies purchased with taxpayer dollars being removed from the public schools and used in private FLDS schools. The Hildale City Council recently rejected an application for a beer license for a store because, as one councilman said, "I can't allow (the beer license) with a clear conscience before our God."

What people believe or do behind closed doors is none of our business.

Sexual predition, welfare cheats and blurring the lines between church and state, however, is everybody's business.
 
TheSpectrum.com
Originally published November 19, 2005
 
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