Key facts about bills targeting polygamy

by Adnan Alam

By Cronkite News Service

Here are key facts about bills dealing with issues related to polygamy:

INCEST:

_ Bills: SB 1061 and HB 2206.
_ Sponsors: Sen. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, and Rep. David Lujan, D-Phoenix.
_ Key Provisions: Each bill would make incest between an adult and a child a felony. The severity of penalties would increase for younger victims.
_ Reason: Arizona’s law on incest doesn’t apply to those younger than 18. That language caused a state judge to drop several charges alleging that polygamist leader Warren Jeffs was an accomplice to incest with a minor.
_ Status: Paton’s bill won a unanimous endorsement Monday, Jan. 25, from the Senate Judiciary Committee; Lujan’s bill has yet to be scheduled for committee.

CHILD BIGAMY:

_ Bill: HB 2007.
_ Sponsor: Rep. David Lujan. D-Phoenix.
_ Key Provision: Judges would be barred from granting full or joint custody or unsupervised visits to those who have engaged in child bigamy, a felony that includes instances in which a married person marries a minor, unless a judge specifies in writing that there is no threat.
_ Reason: Lujan says women are less likely to leave polygamist marriages when they’ve heard about other women who have lost custody of their children.
_ Status: The bill has yet to be scheduled for committee.