Celestial Marriage
B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal finally has the evidence he requires to lay charges of polygamy against Winston Blackmore and James Oler.
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has, for many years, hidden behind the pretext of "religious freedom" for practicing multiple marriages. Blackmore, 52, has 20 wives at present, but has had 26, many as young as 14 or 15. He has at least 108 children, many of whom are substantially older than some of his younger wives.
Bountiful, B.C., home to the largest community of the FLDS in Canada, has been the subject of several investigations involving allegations of polygamy, sexual abuse and trafficking of teenage brides across the Canada-U.S. border to sister communities in the U.S. Blackmore and Oler are the leaders of two factions of the sect living in Bountiful. Oler, 44, has two wives.
It has taken three Attorneys General, many special prosecutors, millions and millions of tax dollars, and almost nineteen years to arrive at a point where the secretive world of the FLDS can be brought to light. This is not about religious freedom; it's about child abuse, sexual assault, rape and human trafficking.
With any luck, the truth about the horrific lives women, children and young men endure under the guise of "religion" as members of the FLDS will also be exposed. The reality of conditions under which "sister wives" of the first or most favoured wife must survive. The lack of basic education for many children, the fact that teenaged boys of the sect are seen as competition for wives to old goats like Winston Blackmore, and are often forced, as a result, to leave their homes and families, with no education, no skills and no resources. The truth about little girls having to disregard their natural thoughts and feelings in order to "keep sweet" for marriages to men over which they have absolutely no say. The understanding that once a child or young woman is married, she has no protection from her husband, has nowhere to turn if he is abusive, and cannot count on anyone to help her.
Warren Jeffs, "prophet" of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the leader of the largest polygamous group in North America, was sentenced to 10 years to life on Tuesday November2, 2007 in a Utah court, on two counts of being an accomplice to rape of a minor. Jeffs was responsible for ex-communicating Winston Blackmore and stripping him of his title of the Bishop of Bountiful in 2006, after Blackmore denounced his role as the "Prophet" of the FLDS, God's representative on earth. Jeffs, Blackmore, Oler and a small handful of men once held total control over a sect that numbered in the thousands. It one time, there were only six surnames in the FLDS.
The courts in the U.S. (and in Utah, of all places) recognized that "religious leaders" were committing rape. The courts of Canada can't let grown men get away with the abuse of children, either.
The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has, for many years, hidden behind the pretext of "religious freedom" for practicing multiple marriages. Blackmore, 52, has 20 wives at present, but has had 26, many as young as 14 or 15. He has at least 108 children, many of whom are substantially older than some of his younger wives.
Bountiful, B.C., home to the largest community of the FLDS in Canada, has been the subject of several investigations involving allegations of polygamy, sexual abuse and trafficking of teenage brides across the Canada-U.S. border to sister communities in the U.S. Blackmore and Oler are the leaders of two factions of the sect living in Bountiful. Oler, 44, has two wives.
It has taken three Attorneys General, many special prosecutors, millions and millions of tax dollars, and almost nineteen years to arrive at a point where the secretive world of the FLDS can be brought to light. This is not about religious freedom; it's about child abuse, sexual assault, rape and human trafficking.
With any luck, the truth about the horrific lives women, children and young men endure under the guise of "religion" as members of the FLDS will also be exposed. The reality of conditions under which "sister wives" of the first or most favoured wife must survive. The lack of basic education for many children, the fact that teenaged boys of the sect are seen as competition for wives to old goats like Winston Blackmore, and are often forced, as a result, to leave their homes and families, with no education, no skills and no resources. The truth about little girls having to disregard their natural thoughts and feelings in order to "keep sweet" for marriages to men over which they have absolutely no say. The understanding that once a child or young woman is married, she has no protection from her husband, has nowhere to turn if he is abusive, and cannot count on anyone to help her.
Warren Jeffs, "prophet" of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the leader of the largest polygamous group in North America, was sentenced to 10 years to life on Tuesday November2, 2007 in a Utah court, on two counts of being an accomplice to rape of a minor. Jeffs was responsible for ex-communicating Winston Blackmore and stripping him of his title of the Bishop of Bountiful in 2006, after Blackmore denounced his role as the "Prophet" of the FLDS, God's representative on earth. Jeffs, Blackmore, Oler and a small handful of men once held total control over a sect that numbered in the thousands. It one time, there were only six surnames in the FLDS.
The courts in the U.S. (and in Utah, of all places) recognized that "religious leaders" were committing rape. The courts of Canada can't let grown men get away with the abuse of children, either.
posted by Alphamutt at 3:53 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home