Polygamy is outlawed in the state constitution, but there are still likely hundreds of Arizonans who engage in plural marriages.

Why it matters: Some religions — namely, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) — view plural marriage as a tenet of their faith, but several polygamist leaders have used the practice to force underage girls into marriage and commit other abuses.

Driving the news: Samuel Bateman, the leader of an Arizona polygamous offshoot of the FLDS, was sentenced to 50 years in prison last week for arranging sexual encounters with girls as young as 9 years old and for scheming to kidnap them from protective custody.

• Bateman claimed to have 20 spiritual "wives."

The intrigue: Bateman and other polygamists who ended up in prison were convicted of child abuse, sexual assault or financial crimes — not polygamy.

The big picture: The state constitution says: "Polygamous or plural marriages, or polygamous cohabitation, are forever prohibited within this state."

Yes, but: The Legislature never passed a statute specifying the penalties for violating the constitution's ban, so it's unenforceable, former Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard told Axios.

Between the lines: Arizona has a bigamy statute prohibiting someone from entering into a legal marriage with more than one person at once. However, many polygamous marriages are only "spiritual" and not recorded with the government.

• In 2004, Goddard secured a child bigamy law that makes it a felony for someone 18 or older who has a spouse to enter into any kind of marriage — legal, spiritual or otherwise — with a minor.

Zoom in: Goddard, who was AG from 2003 to 2011, worked with his counterpart in Utah to try to build trust with FLDS people and crack down on child marriages.

• Goddard told Axios he didn't ask the state Legislature to enact the full polygamy ban from the constitution because he wasn't sure it would hold up under the First Amendment's religious protections.
• Instead, his team focused on what he saw as "the most egregious" crimes in Colorado City.

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More than 70 years ago, Arizona took an aggressive step to crack down on polygamy with a mass arrest in Colorado City whose effects are still felt today. 

What happened: On Jan. 26, 1953, Arizona Gov. Howard Pyle sent more than 100 law enforcement officers and Arizona National Guard troops into Short Creek, as the then-unincorporated polygamous communities of Colorado City and Hildale were known. 

• Pyle labeled the fundamentalist enclave's polygamous lifestyle — specifically its practice of marrying child brides to older men — a rebellion that endangered the "lives and future" of Short Creek's children, whom he said were "the product and the victims of the foulest conspiracy you could imagine."
• 122 adults were arrested, and 263 children were placed into state custody. 

Why it matters: The raid drove polygamy in fundamentalist Mormon communities further underground and allowed people like Warren Jeffs to rally followers by using their fear of the government. 

• Church leaders "could tell children with a great deal of authority that the state was evil and they were out to get you and destroy your life and family," former Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard told Axios. 
• "It set back efforts to control what was going on in those communities fifty years," Ron Barton, who has investigated polygamy in Colorado City, said in 2003. 

Look back

Christmas Day and the first night of Hanukkah fall on the same date this year for the first time in nearly 20 years.

Flashback: Hanukkah last started on Christmas night in 2005 — the only other time the two have aligned in the last 50 years.

How it works: The first night of Hanukkah comes on the 24th of Kislev on the Hebrew calendar, based on lunar cycles with the occasional "leap month."

What's next: The next Hanukkah-Christmas alignment doesn't come 'round til 2035.

The U.S. Department of Justice found the Arizona Department of Child Safety repeatedly violated the civil rights of children and parents with disabilities. (AZcentral)

👀 The Navajo Nation Council removed tribal Attorney General Ethel Branch from office without public discussion on Monday, shortly after she released an investigative report finding that sexual harassment allegations against tribal President Buu Nygren were "not warranted." (Arizona Mirror)

♀ Title 9 Sports Grill, a sports bar focused on women's athletics, will open in January in the Melrose District space being vacated by Short Leash Hotdogs and Taproom. The owners of Short Leash and Boycott Bar will open the new spot. (Phoenix New Times)

Cajun-style fried chicken is on the menu in Phoenix after a Chandler restaurant opened a second location. 

The big picture: Louisiana Fried Chicken and Wings opened on 27th Avenue and Indian School Road near 27th Avenue last month.

Zoom in: That the menu is heavy on fried chicken and wings is a given, but there's so much more. 

Best bites: If fried chicken is the specialty, that's what I'm going for. I got a three-piece meal with a side of red beans and rice, and since we're talking about Cajun food, I added some gumbo.

• The chicken was succulent and well-spiced without being spicy. And the gumbo was great, too. It had what I thought was a little sweetness to go with the savory Cajun spices. 

The bottom line: At its heart, Louisiana Fried Chicken and Wings is a fast food joint. But it's high-quality fast food that's a little different than you might be used to.

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