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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A forum last night to address problems in polygamy also drew members of Utah's polygamist communties, who said it's time to decriminalize polygamy.
The polygamists turned up at the Salt Lake City meeting sporting buttons saying, "Bigger Love."
The Utah attorney general's Safety Net Committee hosted the panel discussion to get public comment about helping abuse victims in polygamous communities. Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff says Utah and Arizona turned a blind eye to polygamy for decades.
But many of those in attendance suggest the best way to end the isolation and abuse is to decriminalize polygamy. They say that would make it easier to force deadbeat parents to pay child support and would help women feel free to report abuse.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
