By John Jalsevac
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, August 10, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Children who belong to polygamous communities are set to rally in support of the polygamous lifestyle next week in Salt Lake City, reports UPI.
According to organizers of what is the first such event, anywhere from between 100 to 300 participants are expected to take part in the rally. Given theÂpresent illegal nature of polygamy, participants will only share their first names.
The “Youth and Family” rally is schedule for Aug. 19, and according to Mary Batchelor, one of the organizers, will “bring the communities together in a united cause,” as well as “bring the youth together in a united way.”
“They don’t generally mingle,” she added.Â
Deseret Morning News reports that the majority of the speakers at the event will be youth.
“Our teenagers really did want to defend their lifestyle,” Deseret Morning News quoted another rally organizer, Anne Wilde, as saying. “Often they’re perceived as the victims. They want to say no, they don’t consider themselves the victims, they feel like this should be a free choice.”
At the rally the youth will carry signs with slogans such as,“Justice and Liberty For All,”“Intolerance Hurts Kids” and “I Love ALL My Moms.”
That pro-polygamy advocates have decided that the time is ripe to step forward and begin to vocally push their cause in the public square comes as no surprise to pro-family advocates. Many have long predicted that polygamy would be next on the list of behavior once condemned as destructive to individuals and society to instead be added to the list of “rights”.
Pro-polygamy groups are increasinglyÂemploying the language utilized by homosexual-“marriage” and abortion “rights” activists, proclaiming that they stand for innocuous “cultural-diversity, choice, empowerment, and values.” One polygamy website, pro-polygamy.com, proclaims as their motto that the fight for the acceptance of polygamy is, “the next civil rights battle.” While the primaryÂorganizers of the Salt Lake Rally, “Principle Voices of Polygamy,” are “encouraging empowerment of individuals and families from the polygamous culture to secure for themselves equal representation and civil rights.”
“I’d like to see us not have to feel like we’re hiding something,” said Marando, one 18-year-old who will be participating in the rally. “We’re really doing what we believe is right. We’re not hurting anyone.”
Read DeseretÂMorning News’ coverage:
Children of polygamists to stand up for families
https://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,645191989,00.html