HB 30 finds Lost Boys
 
Opinion
The Spectrum
 
They've been kicked out of their communities; declared to be a danger in the very towns they grew up in; criticized for failing to adhere to the standards of their society; and told their souls are destined for eternal damnation.

Although this group of people might sound like hardened criminals, the above description is actually of a group of innocent boys - "The Lost Boys" of Utah. They are guilty of nothing more than being an inconvenient fact of life for the powers that be in the polygamous communities of Hildale, Utah and Colorado City, Ariz.

It is sometimes the practice in those towns for middle-aged men to take younger women as their plural wives. With one older man having several younger wives, the result is that young men who are raised in the polygamous culture are left without dating or marriage prospects. When these boys are at a vulnerable stage in their lives, their communities treat them like trash and throw them away.

That's why the least we can do is encourage legislators to pass HB 30.

The bill would allow minors to become emancipated from their parents at age 16. In the case of The Lost Boys, a group of more than 400 according to Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, such emancipation would allow them to pursue an education, earn and borrow money, receive medical aid and access government assistance. These are all areas where The Lost Boys currently face the hurdle of being underage and in need of a parent's consent.

The legislators proposing the bill have been careful to point out that the law would not allow a teen to obtain emancipation simply because he has a disagreement with his parents. The requirements for emancipation would require extraordinary circumstances.

Emancipation will allow The Lost Boys to become productive adult members of an adult society that places a far greater value on them than the closed communities they grew up in. The Lost Boys have suffered greatly. Passing HB 30 into law is something we, as citizens of this state, owe them.
 
TheSpectrum.com
Originally published February 1, 2006
 
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