Austin, USA - A Texas legislator wants to crack down on multiple marriages among a religious sect building a retreat in West Texas.
State Rep. Harvey Hilderbran hopes his bill would discourage members of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints from moving to the Texas compound called YFZ (Yearning For Zion) Ranch, the Austin American-Statesman reported Wednesday.
The polygamous sect has built a temple, living quarters, homes, roads, and water and septic systems at the site four miles north of Eldorado, a town of about 3,000 population.
Church leader Warren Jeffs and other leading church officials have never granted interviews to discuss the church or its members. Leaders have said the Texas ranch would be a religious retreat for about 200 people at a time.
Hilderbran's bill would raise the age of marriage without parental consent from 14 to 16 years of age and impose new rules for marriage and residency for political candidates.