Free Republic

Canada is almost a liberal utopia with socialized medicine, oppressive gun control, no death penalty and gay marriage. Of course I have to qualify the utopian potential of our neighbor to the north with “almost” because Canada also has a state religion. And Canada may be leading the way for all western nations as they seriously consider de-criminalizing the practice of polygamy. It couldn’t happen to a nicer country. It seems there’s a Mormon fella in Bountiful named Winston Blackmore, who has 19 wives and more than 100 children. Oh yes, that’s Bountiful, British Columbia, not our beloved Top of...

.... The terms “Bountiful” and “marriage,” when used together, often conjure up a distinct image. One probably envisages a couple united by a cult leader in a short, secretive, and seedy ceremony. The bride would be imagined as young (perhaps underage), naïve, quiet and unworldly. Her husband would be depicted as older, savvier and lecherous, married already to a number of existent wives. This image does not emerge from thin air. The popular press has gone to lengths in casting Bountiful and other communities of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) as places marked by two predominant features:...

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail February 11, 2009 at 4:18 AM EST VANCOUVER — The B.C. government has relied on selective use of flawed legislation to persecute a religious minority led by polygamists Winston Blackmore and James Oler, the B.C. Civil Liberties Association says. In a public appeal to have criminal charges dropped before they are heard in court, the association says in a prepared statement on its website that Canada's anti-polygamy law is archaic, overly vague and unconstitutional. Using the law to address concerns about child abuse and sexual interference "is extremely ill-advised," the association also said. Mr. Blackmore,...

If you’d asked me last week, I’d have said that a polygamy prosecution against the leaders of the fundamentalist Mormon community in Bountiful, B.C., had two chances: slim and none. On Wednesday night, the B.C. government — or, rather, an independent special prosecutor — finally took the step that has been dithered over for years and charged Winston Blackmore and James Oler under section 293 of the Criminal Code. After giving myself a quick refresher on the legal arguments, I’m no longer so sure about “slim.” One might wonder why B.C. Attorney-General Wally Oppal refused to refer section 293 to...

VANCOUVER-- Winston Blackmore can seem the epitome of grace, even when facing criminal prosecution and a prison sentence of up to five years. He demonstrated this again this week, after his arrest on charges of polygamy. He was firm but pleasant with assembled reporters. He was eager to share the truth about Bountiful, at least as he sees it. He has become expert at public relations. Mr. Blackmore handled himself adroitly in recent interviews with CNN talk-show host Larry King. He has extended to media invitations to visit his polygamous community near Creston, B.C., deep in the province's interior.

L-R: Winston Blackmore, leader of the polygamous community of Bountiful, B.C., with Edith Barlow, Marsha Chatwin and Zelpha Chatwin. CRESTON, B.C. -- Winston Blackmore, one of two men from a B.C. Mormon colony charged with polygamy, shot back Thursday that the charges against them are an attack on religious freedoms and accused the B.C. government of grandstanding as a provincial election looms later in the year. "I am what I am, we are what we are. We are descended from a long line of Mormon-believing people," Mr. Blackmore, 52, said in a statement to reporters at the Mormon Hills...

The charges brought yesterday against two leaders in the polygamous community of Bountiful, B.C., are likely the first steps in a process that could see Canada's anti-polygamy law struck down as unconstitutional. Over the past two decades, four attorneys-general in British Columbia have been reluctant to lay a charge because of a fear that their cases would have no chance of surviving a religious freedom defence under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Last April, Wally Oppal, the current Attorney-General of the province, said the criminal justice branch believed any prosecution would fail because of a possible violation of the...

On Wednesday around 7:45 a.m., eight plainclothes RCMP officers in unmarked cars drove up to the homes of polygamous leaders Winston Blackmore and James Oler in southeastern British Columbia. They arrested Blackmore, 52, and Oler, 44, and charged them with the criminal offence of practising polygamy. It may not be the first time that anyone in Canada has been charged with polygamy. But it is definitely the first time anyone has been charged since the 1800s.

'Gutless' politicians ignore polygamy Religious practice turns women, children into property and must be stopped -- journalist   David Staples The Edmonton Journal Monday, May 26, 2008 Canadian politicians are refusing to enforce anti-polygamy laws and crack down on men with multiple wives, Vancouver journalist Daphne Bramham said Sunday."Politicians are too gutless to do anything about it," she told the national conference of the Canadian Association of Journalists in Edmonton.Teenaged girls are sent back and forth between fundamentalist Mormon colonies in Canada and the United States to be little more than "concubines" for older men, Bramham said.An elder prophet...