[Goober5000]

Kazan, the naked assertions by the Texas authorities are merely last-ditch attempts to cover their asses.

SAN ANTONIO — When Texas child welfare authorities released statistics showing nearly 60 percent of the teen girls taken from a polygamist sect's ranch were pregnant or had children, they seemed to prove what was alleged all along: The sect commonly pushed girls into marriage and sex.

But in the past week, the state has twice been forced to admit "girls" who gave birth while in state custody are actually adults. One was 22 and claims she showed state officials a Utah birth certificate shortly after she and more than 400 minors were seized from the west Texas ranch in an April raid.

...

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/5786522.html

This is not "finding evidence of abuse and then going in to enforce the law".  This is "invading a society in violation of the law and then turning everything upside-down in hopes that abuse will turn up somewhere".

[vyper]

I think this is more a case of "oh ****, we've got good reason to believe kids are being abused both mentally and physically, let's go in and deal with the consequences later".

But of course, that leaves all religions open to such attack and I can see why you'd be afraid of that Goob.

[Goober5000]

Not only religions, but any kind of us-versus-them categorization is open to this kind of abuse.  Granted a religion is probably the most likely category.

And finally, common sense starts waking up.

[Herra Tohtori]

In a ruling that could torpedo the case against the West Texas polygamist sect, a state appeals court Thursday said authorities had no right to seize more than 440 children in a raid on the splinter group's compound last month.

So... if they had seized less than 440 children, would it have been OK? 

I know, I know, but that sentence structure just blows... Writing it like that makes it rather ambiguous, if they meant that "...authorities had no right to seize the children..."

There's not even need to put the numbers on that sentence. Sheesh what are they teaching in those schools these days... <arglebargle, glop-glyf... mutter, shudder...>

[Mongoose]

Here's a question I've had since the start of this whole thing...

Polygamy is illegal under Texas law, right?

Soooo...why aren't the husbands getting busted right off the bat for that, potentially forced marriages or not?  It doesn't seem to have come up at all in any of the coverage I've read thus far.  And even before the phone call and subsequent raid, it was common knowledge that these men practiced polygamy.  Was everyone just looking the other way and twiddling their thumbs?

[Herra Tohtori]

Here's a question I've had since the start of this whole thing...

Polygamy is illegal under Texas law, right?

Soooo...why aren't the husbands getting busted right off the bat for that, potentially forced marriages or not?  It doesn't seem to have come up at all in any of the coverage I've read thus far.  And even before the phone call and subsequent raid, it was common knowledge that these men practiced polygamy.  Was everyone just looking the other way and twiddling their thumbs?

Because AFAIK they are not legally married to more than one woman. They call it spiritual marriage, which does not grant any of the things that official, legal marriage does (like rights to half the property in case of divorce, or the widow getting half the heritage in case either dies and other half being divided to the descendants/other relatives...

Seeing how state and church are (supposedly) separate in US of A, it isn't illegal to have affairs with several women and be married to one. Which is what this equals to in the eye of law.

[Goober5000]

The state issues marriage licenses for, essentially, taxation purposes.  That's why you can get married by a judge.  "Polygamy" is defined as having a marriage license with more than one person at the same time.

[Mongoose]

Ah, right.  I wasn't aware of whether or not any of the "couples" had sought out state marriage licenses at any point.

[MP-Ryan]

Ah, right.  I wasn't aware of whether or not any of the "couples" had sought out state marriage licenses at any point.

The stickier issue still even if they had is whether or not the courts would uphold marriage laws or toss them over freedom of religion.

[Goober5000]

More good news...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,360268,00.html

...  The high court affirmed a decision by an appellate court last week, saying Child Protective Services failed to show an immediate danger to the more than 400 children swept up from the Yearning For Zion Ranch nearly two months ago. ...

*refrains from taking a potshot at Kazan*

[Mars]

Uh... fox? Oh well... it's easily confirmed.

But yes... you have a point.

The United States was at war with the Mormons before.

[karajorma]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7431848.stm

Looks like they're free to go home while the investigation continues at least.