When it comes to national news coverage, Arizona just can't seem to catch a break.
Nobody ever talks about the nice things we're doing, like the hospitals and schools we're building, or the wonderful light rail we'll all enjoy.
Instead, they'd rather poke fun at us. They mock us as we carry our guns into our bars. They mock our sheriff for... being Joe Arpaio. They talk about our high gas prices.
And, over the past year or so, the issue of polygamy has once again brought Arizona into the limelight to be appropriately criticized.
The isolated polygamous communities along Arizona's border with Utah has all the makings of a media circus. There's Warren Jeffs, a charismatic leader who disappeared in the face of a federal search.
There's corruption of epic proportions, manifesting itself most recently in the trial of police officers who were allegedly derelict in their duties in enforcing law in the small towns.
And, worst of all, in these towns, there is an entire class of defenseless victims - a class has been the subject of news articles and features on national network news shows.
They are the women who are trapped in polygamous marriages.
The women may be married far before it's legal anywhere else in the country. They may be married against their will, sometimes in incestuous relationships. And if they want to get a divorce, they have virtually no options, as their husbands control the families' wealth.
Recently, Arizona legislators have tried to get a bill passed that would help these women divorce their husbands. The bill made it through one committee, but isn't even going to get a hearing before the House judiciary committee, a requirement before it could become law.
This is not about polygamy when it involves consenting adults. This issue is about the women who can't get away.
We are quick to point out oppression in other countries. After our invasion of Afghanistan, there was a blizzard of news stories on the burkha, the traditional clothing for some female followers of Islam. In some Muslim communities, the burkha had been (and still is) required by law, and indignant supporters of human rights leapt out of their seats in protest.
This is something serious, and something we have the power to change. Instead, HB 2325, which would've allocated funds to build shelters for women to get away from polygamist, sits dead in a committee.
Just two years ago, women's groups around campus united to help change an Arizona law that lowered the penalty for spousal rape to almost nothing.
It's time we turned our attention to our own backyard again.
