Posted by
Jason Cunningham on Friday, May 23, 2008 1:14:00 AM
A Texas appeals court ruled Thursday that the state had no right to seize children from the polygamist sect at the Yearning For Zion Ranch. It ruled correctly.
The primary point in this case is not whether anyone agrees with the sect's beliefs -- I certainly disagree with the group on many points -- but whether the state had a right to intervene as it did. The answer is 'no'; this episode started with a phone call for help from a girl whom authorities haven't been able to track down, leading many to believe that the S.O.S. was an H.O.A.X. Essentially, therefore, the state considered the accusation from one unidentified person as enough evidence that something fishy was going on at the ranch and that an invasion of it was warranted. This is not intervention; this is interference.