Polygamy and Gay Marriage

Fascinating article about polygamy in Utah and Arizona and the effect of gay marriage on that fundamentalist Mormon institution. LINK. Excerpts:

[For over fifty years, due to a disastrous raid on polygamists back in 1953, both Utah and Arizona's tacit policy toward a highly-polygamous community has] remained "don't ask, don't tell."

Recently though, reports of child brides giving birth in county hospitals, absconders seeking legal restitution, high rates of deformity resulting from incest, and rampant welfare and tax fraud have become too great for authorities to ignore. Now, as the attorneys general's offices seek to "build bridges" that will provide victims of the polygamist system the means to report abuse, they are making it clear they have no intention of indicting an "alternative lifestyle choice" even if it is the breeding ground for all manner of crime.

The primary tactical difference between polygamist communities and gay-marriage activists is that the former have traditionally neither sought nor desired government recognition or even government involvement (with, of course, the exception of public assistance). But as the ideology of those on the frontlines of the gay-marriage debate trickles down to cloistered FLDS communities, they too are beginning to push for unqualified endorsement in the eyes of the law. And why shouldn't they, now that gay couples are starting to make great strides in the same direction? They may not be progressive lawyers authoring treaties in law reviews, but Hildale and Colorado City residents certainly understand the logic of their case.

Thanks, Thumos, for bringing it to our attention.