I am sure a number of you are already aware of the situation, but for those who are not, here is a bit of backstory:

THE SITUATION

As of Thursday, April 3rd, the YFZ Ranch in ElDorado, Texas was raided and a total of 416 children were removed from the area after a 16 year old called in a report of physical and sexual abuse.

The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS Church) is a sect, branching off from the original LDS after they denounced polygamy. It was run by Warren Jeffs, who had been wanted on sex-crimes charges. From May 2006, until his arrest in August 2006, he was on the FBI's Ten Most-Wanted List. On September 25, 2007, Jeffs was found guilty of two counts of being an accomplice to rape and was sentenced to ten years to life in prison.

The sect continues to thrive in his absence. Plural marriage is common there, and the law of placing where a young woman of "marriageable age" is placed with a husband depending on a vision of God to the leader of the group, who is regarded as a prophet. This is a spiritual marriage, not a legal one. Through this law, wives can be reassigned to husbands that are deemed more "worthy". The members of this church cannot own property and must maintain a dress code at all times. Warren Jeffs ordered that all children must be pulled from public school and be home schooled, effectively cutting them off from outside influence.

Criticisms against the church include plural marriage, a practice which inevitably leads to bride shortages and likely to child marriages, incest, and child abuse. Girls as young as 14 and 15 are forced into marriages with much older men, when the legal age for marriage is at least 16. Over 400 boys, some as young as 13 have been excommunicated from the church for various offenses such as listening to rock music, dating, wearing short sleeved shirts, or even talking to any of the girls. Members of the church claim that the boys were delinquents, but former members claim that the real reason for these excommunications is that there are not enough women for each male to receive three or more wives. Once one leaves or is excommunicated from the church, they must give up all contact with their families.

March 29th, a 16 year old made a phone call to authorities claiming abuse. She stated that she was the seventh wife of a man near 50 years old, who she had been married to when she was 15. She already had one child and was pregnant with another. This call set off the April 3rd raid, leading to the removal of over 400 children. Over one hundred women chose to leave with them. The girl who made the call has yet to be found and members of the church claim that she was not real and the call was a hoax.

This is the first time something like this has happened in Texas, and there are no pre-existing laws or policies for this sort of thing. With such mass quantities of people involved, CPS chose to seperate the mothers from the children over 5 years old. They were given the choice to either stay at a shelter or return to the ranch. This seperates an unknown number of the 416 children from their mothers. The decision was made after consulting with numerous mental health professionals, attorneys involved in the case, and other sources, who determined that it was in the best interest of the children to remove the mothers.

Determining the parentage of the children has proven difficult because the sect's adults have been providing inconsistent and inaccurate information. The women have been changing the names they are giving officials, and younger children are being passed from adult to adult. When the children were interviewed, they seemed confused; some identifing several mothers or even unable to identify any one woman as their mother. There are 20 to 30 women who claim to be adults over age 18 but are not believed by the state, providing birth certificates and IDs that do not fit their story.

Now the women are lashing out at CPS, claiming that they were lied to and decieved into releasing their children. They want their children back and wish everything to go back to the way it was before. Worse yet, if various news reports are any indication, the media is siding with them.

The FLDS also appears to be claiming the validity in their dealings due to the fact it is part of their religion (part of their doctrine claims that one must have 3 wives in order to go to heaven) and that the state has no right to get involved.

In their view, their religion makes breaking the law okay. CPS is evil for taking their kids out of that situation. The outside world is full of evil people who will make them "cut their hair and have sex with many men".


MY THOUGHTS

Considering the circumstanes, CPS is doing the best they can with what little they are given. This is the first time something of this magnitude has occurred in Texas and there are no prior laws or policies telling them how they should deal with the situation.

This church has subjugated women, brainwashed children, used and tossed out many young men (google "Lost Boys"), promoted racist ideals ("black people are children of Cain"), and has actively refused to NOT practice *****. However traumatized the mothers say they are, the children do not need to return to that environment.

If you look at the footages or videos, you may note a distinct lack of elderly women and young men in the area. That's because the women are essentially worked to death and the boys are kicked out of the compound in order to leave enough girls for the older men. There have been stories of these Lost Boys being dropped off at the side of the road, told that they were not welcome at the church anymore and that they would never get to heaven, and then left to try and fend for themselves.

The men involved are questionable. I do not know if they were honestly raised this way and truely believe in the religion or if they are just using the religion as an excuse to do as they please. They should be arrested, but hey, since it's part of their religion, that makes it okay, right?

WRONG.

Religion is not an excuse to do as one wants. Claiming religious persecution does not give one the right to break the law. This is not religion. It is a sect. A CULT.


WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Should the children have been removed from the compound? What should be done with the men? What about the women?

Is it brainwashing or actual religion at work here?

Was CPS wrong? What should they have done? What can be done to better the situation?

Your opinions?