I found Andy Granias' column on polygamy very thought-provoking. In general, I don't support government intervention in the personal lives of citizens. I believe that the 1st Amendment protects private practices and that polygamy, as Andy says, "Must be treated as an equal expression of love and legal standing."

However, the situation as it currently exists makes me extremely uncomfortable supporting this view in regards to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. If this issue were purely a religious lifestyle choice or sexual liberties issue, I would not have a problem with their practices. However, the practices of the church transcend simple lifestyle choices and possibly cross over into the criminal realm.

An excellent article in the New York Times outlines one of the tragedies stemming from this practice. The expulsion of young teenage boys from their community to give more females to the elders is a terrible injustice. As you can read in the Times' article, hundred of these boys have been thrown out and abandoned. Unused to life outside of their fundamentalist church, many have extreme problems adapting to life in mainstream society.

The other main issue surrounds the arrangement of underage marriages and the use of coercion and pressure to force young girls into social and sexual situations that they don't desire. Religious freedom remains an integral principle of this country. However, there simply have to be certain limits to this. If a group strays across the line into forcible detention and threats against members or ex-members, there need to be consequences. Frankly, my examination of this matter indicates that the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints crossed this line years ago.

I support the argument that the social stigma and isolation that society forced upon polygamists has contributed to the present-day extremism of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Perhaps if the United States had not outlawed polygamy in the 19th century and allowed polygamy to be practiced openly this group would not have shut itself away from society in the way it has in this century. However, that does not absolve the church of blame for their abandoned children and forced marriages that almost certainly cross the line into child abuse.

Andy is correct in his call for polygamy to be legalized. There should be no penalty for choosing a different lifestyle than the "societal norm." However, I have to disagree with his whitewashing of the true situation surrounding the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For this specific group of polygamists, it is no longer a religious freedoms issue. Their actions have made this a legal matter for the state.