ACLU Weighs in on FLDS Raid

May 7, 2008

Author: Ben Winslow

Source: Deseret News

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,5143,695277280,00.html

The American Civil Liberties Union said it has "serious concerns" about the way the government is handling the massive child custody case over the Fundamentalist LDS Church's YFZ Ranch.

"The ACLU has serious concerns that the state's actions so far have not adequately protected the fundamental rights at stake," the national organization said in a statement recently posted on its Web site.

The ACLU said children have a right not to be abused or forced into marriages by their parents or anyone else, parents have a constitutionally protected right to free exercise of religion and to raise their children in their faith, as well as a fundamental right to due process of the law.

"Children may not be separated from their parents based solely on the state's disagreement with a group's thoughts or beliefs, religious or otherwise," the ACLU said.