Note: updates are at the end of the post.

Today has been an interesting day, full of interviews with various media outlets. Having reached 1,000 signatures in the petition I organized, I issued a press release to various journalists and media outlets.

The text of the press release was as follows:

Petition for Texas authorities contains 1,000 signatures
Concerned Citizens Unite Their Voices in Support of FLDS Members’ Constitutional Liberties

LEHI, Utah (April 20, 2008)—Uniting their voices in opposition to Texas authorities’ removal of 416 children from the Yearning for Zion community in El Dorado, Texas, over 1,000 individuals have signed an online petition (http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/free-the-innocent-flds).

The petition demands the release of the detained persons, as well as an apology for the so-called “acts of aggression” conducted by Texas officials.

Connor Boyack, a Lehi, Utah resident, started the online petition on April 15 in order to help call attention to the abuse of civil liberties he believes is taking place. “As I talked with others about the situation, I was surprised to see how many people opposed the actions of the Texas government,” Boyack said. “While most people disagree with the FLDS religion and its practices, myself included, people are frustrated to see the ways their civil liberties have been ignored and to see the government’s aggression.”

Having first collected the signatures online, Boyack will soon be sending a copy of the petition to Texas Governor Rick Perry, Senator Hutchinson, Senator Cornyn, and Commissioner Cockerell of the Department of Family Services.

Boyack hopes the petition will have an effect on the recent decision by Judge Barbara Walther to keep all 416 children in state custody.

He cites a 2006 report (http://www.window.state.tx.us/news/60623statement.html) by the Texas Comptroller that reveals startling information about the Texas foster care system into which these children are likely to be placed. According to the report, children in the Texas foster care system are four times more likely to die than children in the general Texas population. It also reports that in 2004, 100 foster children received treatment for poisoning from medications, 63 received medical treatment for rape that occurred while in the foster care system, and 142 children gave birth while in the system.

“The Texas CPS officials have stated that the children are being removed because of the potential for abuse in the future,” Boyack said. “But how can this be a reasonable action, when this report clearly shows that the system into which they would be placed is itself riddled with abuse?”

The report also explains how Texas Governor Rick Perry failed to act to help remedy the foster care situation and prevented the release of important statistical data in 2005 to assist in a complete report by the Comptroller. In light of this history, Boyack says he doubts that Governor Perry will respond to the petition, let alone heed its request to act in support of the Constitutional rights of the FLDS women and children.

“The odds are against appropriate action, but we have to try,” he said. “Regardless of the outcome, we’re going to make our voices heard to show there is opposition to what Texas officials have done and may do. We hope that somebody with authority will speak out in defense of their Constitutional rights.”

The first reporter I spoke to was Brooke Adams from the Salt Lake Tribune, who wrote an article early this afternoon, lumping me in with the ACLU’s recent public statement. I’ll include here the portion that mentions the petition specifically:

A Utah man also has gathered 1,000 signatures through an online petition site from people who oppose the blanket removal of the children from the YFZ Ranch in Eldorado. That petition is on its way to Texas, said Connor Boyack, a political blogger. The petition is online at www.thepetitionsite.com/2/free-the-innocent-flds

Connor Boyack of Lehi, who owns a Web design company and writes a political blog, said the petition drive he organized asks that the chiildren be released and officials apologize for the “acts of aggression” against the FLDS.

“I’ve been quite frustrated with the situation as it developed,” said Boyack. “I felt like there was a lack of focus on the constitutional rights of the people.”

He posted the petition online April 15 and within five days had reached his goal of 1,000 names. About 75 percent of those signing identified themselves by name and many posted comments opposing the action.

He is sending the petition to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Senator Hutchinson, Senator Cornyn, and Commissioner Cockerell of the Department of Family Services.

“I don’t expect too much to come of it,” he said.

He said Texas’ child custody system has a documented history of problems, which may place the FLDS children at greater risk than their own community.

“We hope that somebody with authority will speak out in defense of their constitutional rights,” Boyack said.

KSL then stopped by my home to do a video interview. They aired one segment in the 5:30pm hour, and the other just after 10pm. I’ve uploaded them to Youtube for your viewing pleasure:

Jennifer Dobner of the Associated Press then called to do an interview, and wrote up this article:

LEHI, Utah (AP) - An online petition is calling for Texas authorities to release the children and women who were taken from a polygamist sect in a raid this month.

Petition organizers say they have more than 1,000 online signatures.

The Utah man who organized the petition says he doesn’t agree with the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and its practices. But he says the church members still have civil rights, which he believes were violated by Texas authorities.

Some 416 children from the FLDS-owned Yearning for Zion ranch were placed in state custody after during a weeklong raid that began April 3.

Authorities have also confiscated the cell phones of the FLDS women staying with the kids, preventing them any contact with family or legal representation.

On Friday, a judge ordered the kids to remain in custody and said parents and children will under go genetic testing in order to identify familial relationships.

Connor Boyack, of Lehi, drafted his “Free the Innocent FLDS” petition April 15, circulating it among friends and family. Interest quickly mushroomed because so many people shared concern over the violation of civil rights, Boyack said.

“If there’s any cases of abuse, specific cases, those should be investigated and handled,” Boyack said Sunday. “What troubles me and the main reasons that I started the petition was because based on one anonymous phone call 416 children were essentially legally kidnapped.”

Child welfare officials have said all the children were removed because investigators determined there was a pattern of abuse on the ranch that left all minors at risk.

Boyack said he also bristled at court testimony from a state expert that said children at the ranch were living in an environment that would cause them to commit future abuses.

“That really troubled me,” said Boyack. “The kids haven’t done anything yet.”

Having first collected the signatures online, Boyack will soon be sending a copy of the petition to Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Sen. Hutchinson, Sen. Cornyn, and Commissioner Cockerell of the Department of Family Services.

Boyack hopes the petition will have an effect on the recent decision by Judge Barbara Walther to keep all 416 children in state custody.

The petition has been signed by people from California, New York and nearly every state in between. There are also signatures from Alaska, Canada and Brazil.

Fox 13, though they didn’t interview me, threw up this little blurb about the petition.

Sadly, none of the Texas papers I sent the press release to have responded. I’m grateful to the various Utah news agencies for picking up the story. I’ll post more here if there are any new developments.

Meanwhile, I plan to collect the contact information for the various Texas officials to whom I will be sending the petition. As I’m quoted as saying in one of the articles above, I don’t expect this to do much, but I can and will certainly try.

Updates:

Catholic.org picked up the story and wrote the following as part of a larger article:

Connor Boyack, of Lehi, Utah has also used technology to take this cause to the people, establishing a website where people could sign an online petition opposing the removal of the children. The petition, which is to be delivered to state authorities in Texas, asks that the children be released and officials apologize for the “acts of aggression” against the FLDS.

The petition reads, “We, the undersigned, urge Texan authorities to free the innocent women, children, and other members of the Fundamentalist LDS Church who are currently being detained. We demand that the Constitutional rights of the innocent be preserved, and that due process be served.

“As individuals are innocent until proven guilty, we call upon the Texas Governor to intervene in this matter and allow the women and children to return to their homes peacefully. We also demand an apology, most especially from the Texas CPS, for the heinous acts of aggression displayed in these recent events.”

Boyack is a blogger who describes himself as a 20-something thinker broadcasting his thoughts on life, politics, and religion to the masses. He posted his petition on April 15 and in five days reached his goal of 1,000 names, 75 percent of whom identified themselves by name. Boyack says he plans on submitting the petition to Texas Governor Rick Perry, Senator Hutchinson, Senator Cornyn, and Commissioner Cockerell of the Department of Family Services.

On his blog Boyack stated, “I don’t expect this to do much, but I can and will certainly try.”

In addition to the online article, the Salt Lake Tribune published this article in the paper.

The Idaho State Journal wrote an editorial and used some of the AP article to quote me on the issue. Commenters seem to be oblivious to the nature of the issue.

I came across this counter petition in support of the Texas CPS, which at the time of posting this, has 31 signatures after six days.

I was contacted by a reporter from New West who asked me a few questions about the issue. He then wrote this report which has some quotes from myself on the subject. Relevant portions:

The handling of the raid of the Yearning for Zion Ranch polygamous compound in Eldorado, Texas, and the subsequent detainment of the entire community continues to draw strong reactions here in Utah. Connor Boyack, a website designer in Lehi, Utah circulated a petition calling for the release from custody or foster care of all Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) women and children gathered up in the raid, and an apology from the State of Texas. The petition received 2000 signatures before he forwarded it to Texas Governor Rick Perry, along with a letter. . . .

I contacted Boyack and asked him if he thought Texas had broken any laws in its roundup and detainment of FLDS members and he cited a Texas statute which requires there be “an immediate danger” to every person involved to warrant the kind of intervention we’re seeing on the nightly news. He added that the phone call that set off the raid, which now appears to have been a hoax, should not have been the “basis for the removal of 437 children.” He further added,

“CPS (Texas Child Protective Services) worker Angie Voss testified in court last week that the basis upon which the children were taken is that they would grow up in an environment that perpetuates abuse. Thus, they are arguing of a future danger, not an immediate one. They’ve broken the law right there. This isn’t some dystopian “Minority Report” world. People are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty.”

But is it possible that a lawsuit might be brought against the State of Texas? I asked Boyack. His response:

“Boy, I sure hope so. I think that the state has assumed powers it should not have, and a lawsuit is necessary and justified in pushing back and clarifying the constitutionality of their actions. Government does not easily relinquish power, so citizens must fight back to claim personal liberty and draw the line at where government can properly and morally intervene.”

I was also interviewed by Bill Hanna of the Star Telegram in Texas for this article. I’m cited in this part:

Utah-based blogger Connor Boyack, who started an online petition drive that received 2,000 signatures before being sent to officials in Texas, Utah, Arizona and Washington, D.C., said many in Utah now have an unfavorable view of Texas.

“I can’t speak much for people in general, but the blogs and discussions I’ve seen talking about this issue don’t have favorable words for the Texas government,” Boyack said. “Texas’ slogan for its tourism efforts claims that it’s like a whole other country, and many feel that that statement is more accurate than one might think of at first glance.”


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