Polygamy

On Sunday, the Chicago Tribune ran an article on their front page entitled Polygamy. (Utah's open little secret). It's an interesting look into what is a much larger culture than most of us realize.

Obviously, the article is likely in response to the capture of FBI Most Wanted criminal, and notorious polygamist, Warren Jeffs.

The interesting thing in the article is that practicioners of this form of Mormonism do not hide the fact that they are pushing for legalization.

It's families like these [abuse-filled] that polygamy advocates hold up when they make their most frequent argument: decriminalization. They say that if the fear of prosecution is removed, polygamous groups could stop living in seclusion and secrecy, the very conditions that often enable many of the alleged abuses. Even more, they would then feel less fear about going to authorities to turn in abusers within their ranks.

'It would be all about going after the crimes, not the culture,' said Anne Wilde, a former plural wife who now is widowed and the co-director of Principle Voices, a pro-polygamy group.

I find it hard to believe this will ever be the case, but I guess the slope is slippery.

If you are interested in reading more about the fundamentalist Mormon culture, I highly recommend Jon Krakeuer's Under the Banner of Heaven: The Story of a Violent Faith, which is a fascinating look at Mormon history and the disturbing undertones present today within many sects of the faith.