Child Bigamy Custody Bill stalled by Arizona State Representative Eddie Farnsworth
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Flora Jessop can be reached at 602-373-0793

March 2, 2007
 
ARIZONA LAWMAKER, EDDIE FARNSWORTH, REFUSES TO HEAR A BILL which would protect women and children desperate to escape the oppression and abuse of polygamy claiming he does not believe those practicing CHILD BIGAMY make bad parents.

CHILD BIGAMY is MOLESTATION OF CHILDREN and against the law, yet Rep. Farnsworth believes child bigamists make good parents? When Arizona citizens learn that this legislator is thwarting this very popular HB 2325 by refusing to hear it in the House Judiciary Committee he chairs, after it passed unanimously in House Human Services, they will think hard before putting him in charge of making laws that protect children. Representative and Justice for Children Attorney, David Lujan, wrote this important bill based on the case studies he's witnessed of those protective parents escaping polygamy, trying to make a life in the outside world.

Child Victim Advocate Flora Jessop is disturbed and outraged by the comments of Arizona Representative Eddie Farnsworth in regard to HB 2325 which would help women fleeing the abusive polygamist cults protect their children. HB 2325, is designed to create a much needed safety net for these children. According to the committee chair, Eddie Farnsworth, practicing child-bigamy does not make you an unfit parent and any bill targeting polygamy is not something he is willing to consider.

"Step up or step out Rep. Farnsworth but stop blocking HB 2325", says Flora about the measure which would help break the cycle of abuse. Women escaping the systemic abuse inherent in polygamy face immense odds integrating their families into a free society; they need and deserve public health. "He is mandated to protect these vulnerable members of society, not thwart their freedom. By refusing to Hear HB 2325, Farnsworth enables predators like Warren Steed Jeffs to continue preying on defenseless children by forcing them to become the next generation of Child Brides," states Jessop.

"I feel sure the people of Arizona will be as outraged over this action as I am because if Rep. Farnsworth would deny the women and children from polygamy this little protection, he will do little to protect the rest of Arizona's children," says Flora Jessop. Representative Farnsworth is also a well known member of the LDS Church, a church that claims they have nothing to do with polygamy even though much of Arizona was settled by polygamous Mormons continuing the outlawed practice of polygamy by spreading it far and wide through their colonization efforts from Canada to Mexico and all territories in between. "Mormons claim publicly they do not support polygamy, but when called to use their power to stop it, they too often act like Rep. Farnsworth. Mormons can't have it both ways. Either they are part of the problem or part of the solution. This is not a good choice for Farnsworth," says Jessop.

In 2004 Rep Eddie Farnsworth, appeared on the MSNBC Debra Norville Show, along with Child Victim Advocate Flora Jessop, declaring that the AZ Legislature was doing everything they could to help protect the women and children from the crimes and abuses associated with polygamous cults. Farnsworth even goes so far as to site the newly passed AZ legislation making Child Bigamy a Felony as one of the steps taken by AZ to help the underage girls escape.

HB 2325 passed through the House Human Services Committee with an unanimous vote. Committee members stated they would like to remove the option that would give the courts the right to determine 'significant risk' stating they feel the courts have already failed to protect these children.
 
Flora Jessop Press Release
Originally published March 2, 2007
 
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