Whoa! Polygamist solution is frightening...

[Sister Alvear]

what are the laws in Texas concerning legal marriages? Texas has several communities. I don´t know how they all feel about the governmant and marriage. What would make a marriage unlegal in Texas?

[Cindy]

Originally Posted by Sister Alvear

what are the laws in Texas concerning legal marriages? Texas has several communities. I don´t know how they all feel about the governmant and marriage. What would make a marriage unlegal in Texas?

I am pretty sure the girl must be 18 at least without parental permission. I have heard of girls as young as 16 getting married with parental permission.
You cannot have multiple wives or husbands at the same time legally, because it is considered bigamy.

Another problem I have been thinking about for these people are medical concerns and since they have reported that some of the children's births are not recorded by the state so some ages of the babies and children are in question accordingly. They are in West Texas I believe which is pretty much desert and you can go 100's of miles without seeing neighbor's or towns. So if they have medical emergencies as babies and children often do what do they do? Do they have their own doctor's a hospital, a clinic? Think about it a responsible parent would not want their children to be without help in an emergency. And has anyone thought about the health of these children. I am sure they have their own water and grow their own food, but still accidents happen especially with children. It frightens me to think of these children living behind walls because the adults prefer to keep them that way, with no outside influence of supposed evil of modern America and it's persecution of their relegion. They are being held against their will there because they have no will, because they are being taught this is normal.

[revrandy]

Originally Posted by cneasttx

Thank you Rev. Randy, it is not like these people came from another country and brought their culture with them, they have been law breakers for years and use relegion to hide behind. And just because this is all these girls and women have ever known does not mean they should continue to be abused. The leader and adults have taught them it is normal. I think some of these kids have gotten enough of a glance at the "real world" outside their compound and realized it is not common for pre-teen and teenage girls to be treated this way.

It was also reported that many of these "wives" collected a Welfare Check weekly within the Compound from the State.. it was a good gig while they got by with it..but crime doesn't pay... sooner or later you'll get caught..

[Cindy]

I read a report that when Mr. Jeffs was caught in Arizona he had a large amount of cash. Traveling expenses I suppose.

[Hoovie]

Originally Posted by revrandy

It was also reported that many of these "wives" collected a Welfare Check weekly within the Compound from the State.. it was a good gig while they got by with it..but crime doesn't pay... sooner or later you'll get caught..

Please explain how is this a crime while other woman collect welfare on a grand scale and many have babies specificly for that reason. Are you saying they should not be entitled?

[ChristopherHall]

I’m just finding it an interesting cultural comparison. I’m looking at several things:

-First, the cultural norms regarding the age to marry for the majority of human history.

-Second, modern laws regarding the age to marry.

-Thirdly, human behaviors.

I don’t think human beings have changed at all since we were created. Culture and society has changed, but basic human behaviors haven’t. We in modern day America are having an overwhelming problem with young people and their behaviors. Modern society expects kids to abstain until they are at least out of high school and married, around 20 years old or so. Most would like to see their children abstain until after college (average age of 25 or 26?). Then date, have an engagement, and marry. That puts modern cultural expectations at around the mid to late 20’s. In the ancient world most of our young people would have married in their mid teens (of course they would also be working in a family trade to support themselves also). I’m just looking at our modern sociological model and wondering if maybe, due to the greater need of education etc, our modern social structure and our natural human developmental stages clash?

I guess this isn’t entirely related to the polygamy story, but it was just a thought I had.

But something about this story that’s really strange to me, according to what I heard on the news, is that the government did all this based on an anonymous telephone call that may have made a bogus claim. The reporter asked one of the women from the ranch he was interviewing if the call could have come from an angry neighbor. She didn’t know.

[revrandy]

Originally Posted by Stephen Hoover

Please explain how is this a crime while other woman collect welfare on a grand scale and many have babies specificly for that reason. Are you saying they should not be entitled?

Not defending either...both are equally offensive...but in the case of this group...men get the welfare checks for the wives... a man with 9 or 10 wives with children might make a good living...

Steve are defending this??

[Hoovie]

Originally Posted by revrandy

Not defending either...both are equally offensive...but in the case of this group...men get the welfare checks for the wives... a man with 9 or 10 wives with children might make a good living...

Steve are defending this??

Absolutely not defending. IMHO we should consider doing away with all welfare and SSI.

But we need to be doing a clean sweep of blocks in the inner cities if it's illegal, because that's exactly what is happening there.

[Sister Alvear]

In many so called "christian communities" the leaders live like kings...I have read a lot of things about a community called twelve tribes because I once visited them and stayed a few days with them in far south Brazil...
I saw things that ...well...did not seem just right...but I was there only as a visitor...

[Hoovie]

Originally Posted by Sister Alvear

In many so called "christian communities" the leaders live like kings...I have read a lot of things about a community called twelve tribes because I once visited them and stayed a few days with them in far south Brazil...
I saw things that ...well...did not seem just right...but I was there only as a visitor...

I am familiar with them - they are in Missouri too. White robes - right?