Utah polygamous groups learn to lobby lawmakers
 
By Jennifer Dobner
The Associated Press
The Farmington Daily Times - Farmington, New Mexico
 
SALT LAKE CITY — For decades, most Utah polygamists have preferred to live in independent isolation, separate from societies other than their own insular communities.

Mistrustful of government, they've avoided police and state agencies even when they've needed help and stayed silent when politicians passed laws to marginalize or restrict their way of life.

No more. On Thursday, more than 130 men, women and children from various polygamous groups were on Utah's Capitol Hill, learning first hand how to lobby state lawmakers and help shape the legislation that could either destroy or preserve their way of life.

"We love our country, we are proud Americans and we want to show the Legislature and government officials that we are good citizens," said Mary Batchelor, a co-founder of the advocacy group Principle Voices, which organized the training. "We want to learn the process and know how to apply ourselves."

Batchelor and Anne Wilde, who both believe in polygamy but no longer practice it, could be called the mothers of the polygamist-as-lobbyist movement.

In 2001, they were among a dozen women who came to Capitol Hill to speak against a bill that would have made performing a plural marriage ceremony a felony. They didn't stop the bill, but did persuade lawmakers to soften its language and reduce its penalty to a misdemeanor unless the bride was underage.

That effort kicked open a door between the polygamous culture and state government that had been long closed.

"We decided that if we didn't defend ourselves in a positive way, the negative stories and stereotypes would be repeated and repeated," said Wilde.

Today, polygamous groups enjoy an unprecedented dialogue with state government, from the Utah attorney general's office to state services agencies.

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff encouraged Thursday's group to continue to engage with state officials.

"The result of isolation, separating oneself out, is that it breeds mistrust, it leads to ignorance and I'm talking about on both sides," Shurtleff said. "Continue to be involved and engaged. As citizens, if you don't like the laws the way they are, you are entitled to get involved and change the system."

Banned in the Utah Constitution, polygamy is a legacy of the Mormon church, whose members brought the practice here in the 1840s. The Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints would ultimately abandon the practice in 1890 as a condition of Utah statehood. The modern church excommunicates members found engaged in the polygamy.

Still, tens of thousands of self-described Mormon fundamentalists continue the plural lifestyle, believing it a religious principle that promises exaltation in heaven.

Legislation that specifically addresses polygamy is rarely introduced, but plural families closely watch any bills related to families and parents' rights, Batchelor said. In each election year, they also quiz candidates on a range of issues and print the responses in a voter guide.

Bigamy is a third-degree felony in Utah, punishable by a prison term of up to five years. Polygamists would like to see their lifestyle decriminalized so that consenting adults could marry without fear of felony prosecution, said Wilde.

"I don't know if that will happen in my lifetime," she said.

Speaking out and being part of the process is important, Wilde said. It breaks down stereotypes about polygamy and lessens the paranoia some plural families feel toward government.

Nineteen-year-old Timothy, who declined to give a last name in order to protect his family, came to the Capitol as a first-time lobbyist Thursday. A member of the Arizona-based polygamous sect Centennial Park, he said he was taught not to talk to the authorities for fear his parents would be arrested and the children placed in foster care.

"I think we need to get more involved now," he said. "There are risks, but without risk, there is no gain. If we don't take it, we'll never get the laws changed and we'll always be labeled as felons."

Batchelor says none in the group are trying to be radical or force their idea of family on anyone else, but they do want their families to be recognized and respected.

That won't happen by staying hidden, she said.

Many from the group made an effort to talk with lawmakers Thursday, but either settled for passing messages through interns or gave up after waiting and getting no response, Batchelor said.

Most lawmakers shook their heads and said "no" when asked if they spoke with any polygamist-lobbyists.

"I probably represent some," said Republican Sen. Lyle Hillyard of Logan. "But I don't know who they are."
 
daily-times.com
Originally published February 12, 2009
 
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