OH My! Polygamists banned from Utah who now live in Canada might be crossing the border into Northern Idaho.
This news is a few years old, but an issue every Idahoan needs to be concerned about. I bring this topic up because there was recently an un-official debate about this among certain people and students at BSU's library. I happened to be around for it and it was interesting.
http://www.childbrides.org/canada_KT..._polygamy.html
"It's new to me even though I’ve lived here all my life," said Bonners Ferry Mayor Darrell Kerby.
Kerby is proud of the area's religious diversity, but says polygamy is not part of it.
"Polygamy is not protected under religious freedom in Idaho," he said.
This is kind of spooky:
There is also evidence the group is expanding in Boundary County. Blackmore talks about the "souls south of the border, 100 and growing".
"We’re in your movie theatres. We are in your stores. We are everywhere you don't know who we are," said fundamentalist Mary Batchelor.
In the last five years, Winston Blackmore and fellow fundamentalist have been buying acreage in north Idaho. The property they own sits just yards away from the U.S.-Canadian border. County property records show there are homes and a school there. Opponents of the group worry fundamentalists are setting up a border community that will one day mirror the one they established decades ago at the Utah-Arizona line.
More news:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/n...lygamists.html
Idaho legislators have formed a special committee to examine persistent claims that child brides are being transported through the state, as part of exchanges between Bountiful and Utah.
"We are just starting to look into it," said state Rep. Donna Boe, D-Pocatello, who co-sponsored the study proposal.