Polygamy: Seen by Americans as a threat to traditional marriage (same threat as same-sex marriage) In 2008, officials raided the Yearning for Zion Ranch “, kidnapping more than 400 children” (Farah) based on suspected sexual and physical abuse (Associate). An anonymous phone call from a "terrified 16-year-old girl... who accused her 50-year-old husband of beating and raping her" as well as information provided by an "informant" from inside the compound led officials to believe that the women and children in this compound were in extreme danger (Associate). Therefore, Texas authorities found it justified to “separate the mothers from many of the children taken in the raid” (Dobner). They also had reason to believe that “children are more candid in interviews about possible abuse if their parents are not present” (Dobner). Supporters of the raid based their support on the idea that “the welfare of children [was the]…center of officials' decision in Texas” (Hamilton 161). Hopefully their actions were taken in time to help the children deal with the suspected trauma. But how real was the danger? With the 16-year-old girl nowhere to be found and her alleged rapist husband on parole in another state, where were the justifications for the authorities' actions (Farah)? It's hard not to wonder if this raid actually happened because of “what this group [was] capable of” (Associate) or because of preconceptions and prejudices...... middle of paper ......n. After Polygamy Was Made a Sin: The Social History of Christian Polygamy. London: Routledge & K. Paul, 1974. Print. Dobner, Jennifer and Michael Graczyk. “Texas defends the separation of polygamous sect children from their mothers.” Breitbart.com. Associated Press, April 15, 2008. Web. October 22, 2011.Farah, Giuseppe. “The Texas Polygamy Raid.” WND.com. World Daily Net, April 19, 2008. Web. October 22, 2011.Gibbons, Timothy, Bill Hayes, Christopher Poole, and Kirk Streb, goads. “Sister wives”. Sister wives. TLC. Lehi, Utah, September 26, 2011. Television.Hamilton, Marci and Mark J. Rozell. Fundamentalism, politics and law. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011. Print.Melton, J. Gordon. The Encyclopedic Handbook of Cults in America. New York: Garland, 1986. Print. "Polygamy". Dictionary of popular law. 2005. Gerald N. Hill and Kathleen T. Hill. Network. October 27 2011.