Colorado City

How does the state of Arizona government ignore what is going on in Colorado City? It's time the children there learned the truth about what's going on outside their captive community.

How does the state of Arizona government ignore what is going on in Colorado City?

The short answer would probably be: Because no person or group has made enough noise.

While the idea of polygamy is clearly illegal, I am not against it. That is not to say that I would participate -- I have no interest, and I don't believe it to be stable. But I think consenting adults should be allowed to do whatever they want as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else.

That being said, this actually goes much deeper in Colorado City (and probably other polygamous communities) where children are forced into marriages and not allowed to leave. These are not just adults, and they are clearly not consenting, so I do believe that the community should be engaged by law enforcement to have the practice stopped.

It's time the children there learned the truth about what's going on outside their captive community.

I agree.. and I really don't know why nothing has happened, other than what I mentioned above.. not enough noise has been made about it.

Nick - I just left a message on the site about property in Colorado City.

Are they exclusive of new people?

And I agree with you last post.

I've not spent any amount of time in Colorado City, so I don't know what the town's mentality is as far as newcomers. I don't think there's any written rule that says that the town is only open to polygamists, as polygamy is illegal, this would raise all sorts of issues.

But once arriving, I don't know what the environment would be if they feel you don't "belong." You'd probably have to spend some time there, or talk to someone that has, to find out. Perhaps someone from Colorado City will show up in the forums :-).

Oh okay, well thanks anyways :-) I can't find any realty sites for Colorado City unfortunately. Anybody been there? I need honest opinions - just looking for a pleasant town.

Arizona has over 280 cities and towns.. and many of them are very pleasant. Any reason you have a specific interest in Colorado City?

I'm working on purchasing a second home, and it'll probably be in one of the following places: Prescott, Sedona, Village of Oak Creek, Heber, Jerome, Strawberry, or probably a few others. All very pleasant, somewhat rural, but not far from some great amenities.

ew, colorado city is absolutely disgusting. those poor girls that don't know any better than to marry and have sex with those gross old guys. no education, no tv, no haircuts, no outside world, no nothing. a man marrying two sisters, 12 and 14..what is that about? a woman with 65 siblings? hmmm.....

why the heck would anyone want to have a second home there!! hello....why the state of arizona doesn't go in and take care of business i do not understand. they probably don't care about women and children!!! so much for mexican being the only 3rd world country in north american!! arizona/mexican same thing!! i actually think colorado city is worse because they are on their mighty mormon horse, although the mormon church was disavowed them....

Wuts up everyone. Im from Philly and I just heard about this Colorado City thing on Opera yesterday(lol the only reason why I was watching Opera was because nuthin else was on) and I can't believe what I saw. Its like these girls are slaves to these old ass dudes. This is not right and something needs to happen about this. I am really serious about stopping this and I wanna start as soon as possoble. Sure I maybe a 19 year dude from Philadelphia, PA, but I am willing to do what ever it takes to stop this slavery of young innocent girls. It needs to stop and its gonna stop now.

Russ, Colorado City is not the only polygamist community in the states. There are many many others.

I know there are probuly alot more. But this is the one that I heard about first. I want to stop this community first so I can show the other polygamy communities a message. I am not gonna sit here while this thing keeps going on. I'll handle the rest of the communities after Colorado City. I'm still young and I have a lot of time on my hands.

Russ,

If you want to make it a mission to liberate the naive people of Colorado City from their oppressive lifestyle, I'm all for it.

First, we would need to ignore extremists like lolacollins that posted earlier, because this is a very skewed view of how it really is. I'm an Arizona native, and still live here (just outside of Phoenix). And though I've never been to Colorado City, I have probably done my homework on this a little more than a lot of people.

Back in the 1950s, then Governor Howard Pyle had hired detectives to investigate Colorado City (called Short Creek at the time). These detectives ultimately ordered a raid that resulted in the arrest of many polygamist men. The problem here is the media at this point is showing footage of broken families, children seperate from their parents, etc., which generated so much negative publicity for the governor that made it difficult for future administrations to take any action.

So as it sits now, law enforcement will not simply go into Colorado City without a complaint being filed, or unless they are witness to a crime, any more than they will investigate the break-in of your house without either them seeing it or you telling them about it. Frivolous lawsuit attorneys won't go after it because there's no money to be made. So the only ones left are people with good morals and ethics that usually don't have the means to even begin something like this.

My problem is not with polygamy as a concept. If a group of consenting adults all want to get married to each other, and they're not hurting anyone, then that's their business. The keywords here are "consenting" and "adults", neither of which applies to Colorado City. Very young girls (not adults) are coerced (not consenting) into a particular situation. This is where the problem is, and it's what needs to be attacked.

Some people are for allowing polygamist relationships, and some are against it; just as some are for gay relationships, and others are against it. So trying to get support to make a change based on that method alone is not going to happen. Someone needs to propose a change based on the fact that child abuse is occuring, because a vast majority of people (substantially more, anyway) would support something like this. It might be good to go in there with a team from children protective services and send a shockwave through their community.

I don't know much about the polygamy or wut polygamy is. All i know is that there are innocent little girls who are being forced to marry old ass men. I mean these girls are 15 years old, if thats not abuse then i don't know what is. We need to stop this abuse thats going on and we need to stop it now. These girls are suffering and they don't know of a better life. Thats where I and whoever else wants to step in comes in. I wanna stop this abuse right now and I don't care who is there who wants 2 stop me.

Russ,

I don't know much about the polygamy or wut polygamy is.

Polygamy is where you have multiple husbands or wives. Monogamy, what we're all familiar with, is when you have one husband or one wife.

I wanna stop this abuse right now and I don't care who is there who wants 2 stop me.

Sounds great! What's your plan?

Nick, Ok maybe I don't have a problem with polygamy. If its part of what they believe in then Its ok. But whats not ok is the abuse that's going on in Colorado City. My plan is to let these girls, who are being forced to wed and bare children at a very young age, know that they have a choice. They don't have to do this if they don't want to. They have the right to say "no" if they don't want to wed or have sex with an older man. If any girl wants to escape from Colorado City then I will help them. And i won't stop until everyone is safe. I'm sure there are some people in Colorado City who are against all of the abuse that is going on, but maybe they are afraid of what might happen to them if they voice there opinion. I'm gonna stand by those people who are against the abuse and fight along there side. I'll let them know that they are not alone and I will always be there to see that this stops.

Russ,

But whats not ok is the abuse that's going on in Colorado City.

I agree with you.

My plan is to let these girls, who are being forced to wed and bare children at a very young age, know that they have a choice.

That sounds great, but it's a goal, not a plan. A plan has steps to it, like this:

1) Visit Colorado City to learn in-depth why what's happening is happening so you can determine an approach.

2) Contact key people in the media to inform them of the situation and ask them to cooperate in getting the word out.

3) Contact Mohave County authorities (Colorado City is in Mohave County, and the county has jurisdiction over child abuse issues) and find out what they are doing, and give them any suggestions or information you have.

...or something like that. So when I ask you what your plan is, I'm asking you if you have an idea of specific actions that you are going to take.

I'm sure there are some people in Colorado City who are against all of the abuse that is going on, but maybe they are afraid of what might happen to them if they voice there opinion. I'm gonna stand by those people who are against the abuse and fight along there side.

There are people who are residents of the city, and some have spoken out against what's going on. If you want to support someone, look for someone named Ross Chatwin. He lives in Colorado City, and is actively opposing the oppressive conditions. He would be a good person to support.

I personally think the plan you made is perfect. That takes care of just about everything that we need to do to stop this whole thing. So I say lets use the plan that you set up to stop the abusive in Colorado City. The only thing we gotta do now is to set up a date to start this plan.

I personally think the plan you made is perfect. That takes care of just about everything that we need to do to stop this whole thing.

Whoa.. hold on a minute. I think the example plan that I laid out was fairly generic. It needs to be more detailed.

If this is something that you really want to do, then you need to learn quite a bit more about the situation first. I would recommend trying to get ahold of Ross Chatwin and learning what you can from him. Find out if we we've seen on TV about Colorado City is true, is abuse like this really commonplace. Then find out what his goals area, and what his obstacles are. Ask him, why is it so difficult to get the authorities to act?

Once you talked with him a bit, your next step will be determined by what he says. But if the gist of it is, "yes, it's that bad, it needs to be stopped, but the authorities are reluctant," then the next call would probably be to child protective services in Mohave County asking them if they are aware of the situation (of course they are, but it's a good way to start the conversation), and then ask them what it will take for them to take some action, and why they haven't been able to do so in the past.

Then move from there based on the information you gather.

im from ohio i want to know why this colorado city thing isnt being taken care of theres really no reason the state or even the feds arent in there. Is this some cover up or is it just no one wants to get involved. this towns polygamist group has violated constitutional rights by denying education above 7th grd to girls and more things than i can list. whoever has info about this topic plz email me at

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about the plan: we know the problem ill send you a picture of the problem if you havent already seen the so called prophet the state has taken custody of girls there and they have been married off while in custody the autoritys in the city are polygamists themselves. what needs to be done is to get the whole country in an uproar about this situation by contacting the big news broadcasts like FOXnews CNN and MSNBC if the vast majority of people in the country the politics will change ex: the politians want re-election that isnt happening if they arent liked by the people. people mad=action to please the people.

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If I remember my facts correctly, sometime in the 1950s, the governor of Arizona at the time ordered a raid on the town to try and clean up. The media came in and aired some of what was going on. Most of what was aired were sob stories of children in the streets crying after being seperated from their families, etc.

This caused a lot of bad publicity for the state government at the time. I believe it's the fear of this same bad publicity repeating itself that has prevented anyone else in government from acting.

I don't have a problem with people practicing polygamy. What 2, 3, 4, etc *consenting adults* want to do with their personal lives is their own business. It's when they force people into it, and when children and abuse are involved, that I (and probably many others) have a problem.

this is true but polygamy is illeagal and could be another argument for going after those people. as for the popularity issue and the sob storys its because of the fact the people in the town have no education and have been brainwashed since they were little. the kids are held in freezing water for emotion so the emotions are just to get the public to back off you know?

I understand completely, and I agree that I think something should be done. I'm just trying to explain why I think nothing really has been done.

understanding why no action has been taken could be the key to changing it you know? so its a good idea to know

I understand that you don't have a problem with polygamy as a whole, but the problem is that their kids grow up in an unstable home and usually become polygamists because their parents told them its ok or they know nothing else the women in colorado city are forced into it but they dont know that its wrong so they just continue to think that the men in the city are supurior to them. If the polygamy ended they would know that what happens is wrong. This isnt just colorado city either. this is just the tip of the iceberg If we have any hope of stoping the abuse of these polygamists then we have to send a message to the people of these relationships that abuse such as what is happening in colorado city will not be tolerated!! I am currently creating a site that will provide information to people like me who want this stoped plz post information that could help me in stoping the abuse of citys like this one

the women in colorado city are forced...

That's the problem right there. It doesn't matter if they are polygamists. It doesn't matter if, in turn, their kids grow up to be polygamists. The whole problem is that they are being forced into it. And that anyone who speaks out against it is abused, or that people are just abused in general. That is the problem.

You need to be careful about what you target, and not to confuse polygamy with abuse. It is perfectly fine for a group of adults to live together, in consent, and to do whatever they'd like to each other in private. This is a completely separate issue than abuse, and it needs to be addressed separately. I think that if you separate it properly and try to tackle the abuse, you will get more supporters and be more successful.

wait a minute here polygamy clearly creates unstable situations for the child, they have no knowledge of whatis correct for them to do and they willingly go into abusive situations because the don't know any better

wait a minute here polygamy clearly creates unstable situations for the child

What are you basing that on?

these people have like 50 kids they need a mother and a father to care for them! the dad has no time for the kids he just has them and leaves em to the mom

Yes, that is a problem, but having 50 kids is not the definition of polygamy; having multiple spouses is. If someone has 50 kids and doesn't pay any attention to them, it doesn't matter if they came from 5 wives or from 1 wife, they've still got screwed up kids.

You could also screw up your kids if you only had 2 and never paid any attention to them.

I have friends that have large families; one of them has 10 kids. I personally come from a large family of 7 kids. There is nothing wrong with having a lot of kids, as long as those kids are able to get everything they need from their parents to develop properly; it doesn't matter how many parents they have.

The problem is when you have kids that are abused, or neglected. And from what I hear, that does happen in Colorado City quite often. That is what needs to be stopped. But polygamy, like a gun, is harmless on it's own.. it's how it's used that can cause problems.

theres a reason society has shifted towards hedrosexual marige between two people. In the countrys like afganistan and iraq women are treated poorly and men are treated supirior. the same is for polygamist towns and famillys. But put aside all of your opinons for a minute and think about this.....

why should a man get many wives but many women only get one man? Doesnt the scale seem un-balanced?

theres a reason society has shifted towards hedrosexual marige between two people.

I don't see that shift. If anything, the shift is moving the other way. In the past, most "unions" were between a man and a woman. It is now more common to skew away from that.

In the countrys like afganistan and iraq women are treated poorly and men are treated supirior.

I agree that the treatment of these individuals is wrong.

the same is for polygamist towns and famillys.

Colorado City is the only polygamist town that I know of (so I don't have a frame of reference), but I think their abuse comes from fear. They are afraid to be "found out", or even more so, they are afraid that the people living there will find a more preferrable way of life, so they keep them in the dark. If it was more open, and people there were free to leave, and outsiders that agreed with their way of life (minus the abuse) were free to enter, then I think it'd be a much more stable situation.

What I'm saying is that I think it is possible for a polygamist family or even a town to exist without the abuse that takes place in Colorado City.

But put aside all of your opinons for a minute and think about this..... why should a man get many wives but many women only get one man? Doesnt the scale seem un-balanced?

Yes, of course women should have all of the same rights as men.

ok look at the past two hundred years and you will see the correct shift once you see that come back and talk to me

ok look at the past two hundred years and you will see the correct shift once you see that come back and talk to me

200 years ago, people were hardcore religious and anything other than a traditional "one man, one woman" marriage was completely unacceptable. Today, homosexual marriages are common as well as single parenting. There must be a far lower percentage of traditional marriages today than there were 200 years ago.

not more polygamy, maybe gay couples but polygamy used to be part of the mormon church but broke off about 100 years ago making polygamy less of an occurance. but thats beside the point polygamy is illeagal for a reason and thats a fact so colorado city is out of line as well as many other cominitys

Of course it's illegal, there's no question about that. But being illegal doesn't make it wrong. There are many stupid laws. You can't get support for something on legalities alone, you have to get people to believe in a cause.

I think it's easier to get people behind the idea of "stop the abuse" than it is to rally support for "breakup families."

If all we're ever concerned with is "it's illegal", then nothing will happen to correct the situation. Instead, if someone were to highlight to abuse and forced lifestyles of these residents, people would be more likely to want to do something about it.

when you are looking from the outside you see things without feeling. when you are a child you want to be loved and accepted and you will do anything to obtain that.

I grew up in Colorado City and as a kid I remeber seeing the enemy (the outsiders) Judging laughing at our clothes Yelling PLIG PLIG and

re-inforcing our Parents teachings that the outsiders are evil and mean us harm. that we are the chosen Godly people but we can not think or feel as individuals but as a group to survive. Sure it may be a lifetime of unhappiness but we get to spend the rest of time in heaven while the outsiders will be scorned in Hell.

No I did not chose to be born.

I was thrown out of my house when I was 16. The example of what happens when I choose to feel and think. I resented being a male for I had to have 3 wifes and suport them making all of the decisions for them when I couldn't even decide how I felt. Love what is love is it blind obedience as my parents taught. what was this feeling of attraction I felt for girls? but no pleasure is a sin.

Very interesting insight.. thank you for posting! How long ago did you leave? What are your thoughts as to why nothing is being done change the living conditions in that area?

I left in 92 when I was 16 Rulon T Jeffs was the leader. well Utah can't really do anything because mormons made a agreement not to have anything to do with Polygamists in anyway back when Utah became a State When Wilford Woodruff the president of the mormon church signed a document stating that the mormon church wouldn't practice Polygamy. So in a way they don't want people to know that the original plan of Mormanism was to practice polygamy.

Arizona back in 1953 there was a raid, they took away the children and locked up the fathers and the Governor was ridiculed and it ruined his career because everyone felt bad for the little children and frowned upon the idea of separating families.

The Polygamist cult that I came from in general do not have many wives for sex but to have children and to create a perfect Race/Army of God. They do not believe in birth control or having sex for pleasure for pleasure alone even masturbation is evil.

Do you think fear or ridicule is the sole reason why no one else has made an attempt?

PERSONALLY, I THINK WE SHOULD FLUSH THIS WARREN JEFFS OUT LIKE WE DID SADDAM HUSSIEN. TREAT HIM THE EXACT SAME WAY. ACT AS IF WE ARE IN IRAQ AND SEND SOME OF OUR ARMY AND MARINE CORP SOLDIER GROUND TROOPS IN THERE WITH TANKS, HELICOPTERS AND HUMMERS AND SET UP CAMPS AND MAKE PLANS TO EVACUATE THE KIDS AND THEN GO AFTER THAT S.O.B WITHOUT HESITATION. THEY SAY HE'S SAFE IN HIS BIG MANSION AND NO ONE CAN GET IN. BULL! GO AFTER THAT GUY! TREAT HIM LIKE A TERRORIST. THOSE POOR KIDS THERE ARE TREATED JUST LIKE THOSE IN IRAQ THAT ARE OPPRESSED AND TORTURED AND TREATED LIKE SCUM. THEN ONCE HE'S CAUGHT, PROSECTUTE HIM TO THE FULLEST EXTENT AND GIVE HIM THE DEATH PENATLY!