48 Hours on Polygamy in the U.S.

48 Hours ran a story last night about how one woman escaped from a polygamist marriage in Colorado City, won custody of her children, and then, after the Mormon sect who controls the city apparently excommunicated the man she had "married" and took her sister, his first and only legal wife, away from him (!), she went back to him. He agreed not to take another "wife." She said if he did, she would leave him again. Apparently, it's all real honky dory now. I wonder where the first and legal wife and her children are, if they are happy with their "reassignment" to another husband/father.

They showed the harem quarters of another guy, apparently some really rich businessman who refused to be identified because he was afraid he would lose some of his business if he were, and according to Lagatuto (sp?), from other sources, he has and supports about 15 "wives" and about 75 children? And they all live together in one big happy family. I never understood how they got away with it. It's because the guy only legally marries the first woman and all the rest are only "spiritual marriages," i.e., he keeps a bunch of concubines. Since there is no law against keeping your mistresses all together in one house, I guess the State has no legal grounds upon which to prosecute the polygamist.

And coming up soon, on a channel near you, I guess, is a show about a polygamist and his "wives"....or a show about the "wives" of a polygamist and a polygamist. Called "Big Love" or something like that? That's all we need. Makes me wonder if the rich guy supporting the baker's dozen is a t.v. executive. There really should be some way of outing this guy. Where are the Christian fundamentalists when we need them? If they are up in arms about gays and abortion, it seems they should also be up in arms about this... certainly most of them should believe that it is an "abomination unto the Lord" or something equally heinous.