Perry defends Polygamist raid.

Austin American Statesman ^ | 6.6.2008 | n/a

[wolfcreek]

Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday that he'd take personal responsibility if Texas "stepped across some legal line" in the April raid on a West Texas polygamous sect's ranch, but he also defended the state's action.

[wolfcreek]

"If you are going to conduct yourself that way, we are going to prosecute you," Perry said. "If you don't want to be prosecuted for those activities, then maybe Texas is not the place you need to consider calling home."

There are very few issues I agree with Gov. Perry on but, this is one of them.

[CharlesWayneCT]

Sure, he says he takes “personal responsibility”, but I’m betting if anybody files a lawsuit against him, it will be kicked because he has immunity as governor, which kind of negates the whole “personal responsibility” thing.

If nothing else, I’m thinking adults who showed drivers licenses proving their age who were then illegally detained as “children” should have a false imprisonment claim.

[Retired Greyhound]

He is correct that this sect’s behavior is troubling, but to me, this use of government is also troubling. 3

This could have been handled much better.

[cripplecreek]

"If you are going to conduct yourself that way, we are going to prosecute you,"

So does that include the "authorities"?

[Niteranger68]

I guess being prosecuted in Texas doesn’t have anything to do with the actual law.

[Bushwacker777]

Strange, a lot of illegal aliens call Texas “home”.

[wolfcreek]

Do you have a link showing that any of the *detained* mothers/children had Tx./other states drivers licenses?

First I’ve heard of this.

[MEGoody]

If nothing else, I’m thinking adults who showed drivers licenses proving their age who were then illegally detained as “children” should have a false imprisonment claim.

Driver's licenses can easily be faked, and this cult had lied and covered up all the way with the authorities. They could try to file something on false imprisonment, but I doubt it would fly. (Except of course, if they got a liberal judge - there are plenty of those around.)

[DoughtyOne]

So Perry is saying he’s approves of illegal behavior perpetrated by law enforcement and CPS? That should be grounds for him to be removed from office.

[wolfcreek]

“So Perry is saying he’s approves of illegal behavior perpetrated by law enforcement and CPS?”

Right.

BTW: that’s not the part I agree with.

[Orange1998]

"If you are going to conduct yourself that way, we are going to prosecute you," Perry said

Sounds like religious discrimination to me. No charges have been filed but they are threaten with prosecution. I don't pretend to know all the facts but if they returned the children they must have no case.

[DoughtyOne]

The sad thing is, when a guy shoots off his mouth like this in such an ill thought out manner, he taints the views he holds that are similar to your own.

He would have been smarter to give this subject a pass, if he was going to make some comments that supported operations outside the law.

[Wallace T.]

It would only have taken a few minutes per person for the Department of Public Safety to have checked the status of any drivers’ licenses or ID cards the FLDS cultists had in their possession, even if they were issued by another state. If the CPS did not turn the licenses or cards over to law enforcement to verify the identities of the holders, they dropped the ball. The adult cultists that were detained clearly have a case against the state of Texas. Unfortunately, it will be the taxpayers, and not Governor Perry or the CPS employees, who will stuck with the legal bill.

[wolfcreek]

I’ve told you in the past he SUCKS!

[wolfcreek]

The criminal invstigation continues.

[Liberty 275]

It sounds like perry should be doing jail time.

[Soliton]

One of them was 27 and gave a valid AZ license.

[Orange1998]

I hope it does. The government gave back the kids and they would not have done if they were in danger. The whole incident sounds UnAmerican. The government can go to any high school and find pregnant teens.

[swain_forkbeard]

Cart. Horse.

[CharlesWayneCT]

what person is “this cult”? You make the same mistake of treating hundreds of individuals as if they are some borg collective, with a single mind running around “lying” and which should therefore be treated as one person.

The appeals court ruling in part faulted the state for painting every individual with the same corporate brush. You do the same.

If one person at the compound lied, why does that mean a different person at the compound should be treated like a liar?

Further, without any evidence that a driver’s license was faked (and frankly, while it’s easy to make a “fake license”, making one that authorities can’t pretty much immediately verify as fake isn’t — and in this case, the state records would have shown the license to be real).

Actually, a better argument would probably be that they could have lied to GET the license, not that the license was fake. But you usually present other proof to get licenses. And generally, licenses are treated as legal documents and accepted as real unless there is specific evidence to the contrary (and “she sure looks young” doesn’t count).

The idea that the CPS can come into a home, decide an adult looks like a child, and seize that adult, and get a judge to agree to let them forcibly detain that adult for over a month simply on their word that the adult is a child, should be scary to all of us, no matter what you think of the cult. After all, we were all for “protecting the children”, and in this case they violated the rights of an adult who was TREATED like “the children”.