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Buzzby

I can't see that raping little girls is a "religious freedom" issue. These people aren't being prosecuted because they're polygamous. They're being prosecuted because they're suspected of sexually abusing children.

I can see debating whether or not using illicit drugs is a "religious freedom" issue. There are no victims. Rape and forced marriage are clearly violations of the law and basic human rights.

Their "religious freedom" defense is just a smokescreen. These are the same "religious" people who dump 12-year-old boys in strange cities (where they often become male prostitutes, just to keep from starving) so that there's no competition when old men want to "marry" the barely-pubescent girls.

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Bernie420

There are many examples in history where young girls have married extremely early. How young is too young?
In a number of countries, women are married off to guys picked out by their parents.

macphearsome

I think those countries are "wrong"

I mean, we're all just people and ideologically speaking I guess I don't have any greater claim to being "right" than the next person, but this practice is against my values and I support government intervention. It's just what I think is right. my human sympathy would like to see these girls given an opportunity to leave what I consider to be an unhealthy environment


edit - i should mention i haven't read much about this specific case so I made some assumptions. feel free to educate me if I missed the point

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"the only way to achieve certainty is to amputate inquiry"
Marvin Minsky

Bernie420

That doesn't make them "wrong". That just makes them different. Your culture may determine that child marriages are wrong, a different understanding of that concept may exist in other cultures. Are they right or wrong?

macphearsome

I'm surprised you didn't underline my next sentence, because it anticipates and addresses the exact concern that you brought up in this post.

 

Buzzby

We're not talking about some time in history or some other country. We're talking about the United States of America in 2008. The United States has standards concerning human rights and personal freedoms that are central to our way of life. Rape, forced marriage, and dumping pubescent boys in strange cities don't fit within those standards.

If you want to reference other times and other countries, you could justify almost any action imaginable. Do you think that American Muslims should be allowed to stone adulterous women to death? That's a "religious" practice in Saudi Arabia.

Rev0lver

They are wrong. Why is this true? Because (this can be proven by science) the brain and thought processes of women are the same as men(probably not 100%, but 99.99%). Men and women are both human, so they both have just as much right as the other to choose for themselves. Force is not advantagous to anybody except the forcers. And with the minors argument, it is the fact that the brains of these young women are not developed enough to make a decision like this themselves, and may regret it at a later time.

Bernie420

I don't like what they do in other countries, but because I don't like it doesn't mean its bad. It's just different. It may not be my cup of tea, but who am I (or you) to tell these people what they're doing is wrong?

macphearsome

because in our opinions, what those people are doing is harmful to the people to whom they are committing these actions.

and I believe that people would be better off if "we" (read, the state) interfered. I don't recognize cultural rights to be above human rights.

dedbr

Mac..........

Freedom. What does that word mean in America? Do these people deserve the same amount of that freedom as the rest of us? Freedom of religion is a very big thing in this country, so why is it all right to say we have freedon of religion when the truth is we have only what the government wants to give us.....

Buzzby.....

Personal freedoms? How is the sex life of a married couple rape? If they are married in the eyes of their church, how can it be rape?

Arranged marriages are a part of life. In other countries it is an accepted way of life. Because polygamy is against the word of the christian god, we accept that these people are being persecuted. I'm sorry, I just don't buy it. If we're going to have rights and freedoms, it should be for all people, not just the christian right.

My biggest problem with this is the continued persecution of people who want to live their lives and have the government stay the fuck oughta their business..............

Kinda like herb smokers........


Some Where In Ded Land..................

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Homer

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