Free Republic

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will introduce a measure Wednesday establishing a federal task force on polygamy and offering help to those trying to escape polygamous communities. The bill, if passed, would set the stage for likely the largest orchestrated crackdown on polygamy in a century. Ahead of the first congressional hearing focused on polygamy since the 1950s, Reid, a Mormon convert from Nevada, will introduce the Victims of Polygamy Assistance Act. It would set up a collaborative effort between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to combat "broad patterns" of polygamy-related crimes. The bill also would create grants...

"MELBOURNE: The belief that babies born to first-cousins will suffer from some kind of deformities is all a myth, say researchers in Australia. "

The reality of 21st century life is that it's difficult to define a family with children. Most people understand this. The most practical is a "know it when you see it" definition: One adult - or two adults in a loving and committed relationship - raising one or more kids. Leave aside matters of genetics, gender or marital status. But somehow this widespread social change has eluded the Maryland Court of Appeals, which this week has decided that there is no such thing as a de facto parent. The court relegates an unmarried parent - in this Baltimore County case,...

Sorry to rain on everybody’s parade, but this isn’t a good thing. Of course, I have already explained why I believe that civil unions would be better for us than gay marriage. I have also explained why at this point I don’t want gay marriage at all. (For those of you who don’t want to click, I can sum it up: 1) no-fault divorce, 2) alimony and 3) Terri Schiavo.) Had California’s state legislature passed a law, I wouldn’t be complaining. I still wouldn’t be getting married, for the reasons I referred to above, but I’d have no objection to...

17-Year-Old's Parents Signed Consent Form for Their Daughter to Marry Her 27-Year-Old Teacher A 27-year-old teacher in Texas has been arrested after he applied for a marriage license with his underage student, even though her parents gave consent. Cases of teachers trying to marry their students are on the rise. Randy Arias taught Spanish and coached track at the Austin high school where 17-year-old Brenda Guerra was enrolled. Police say that the pair secretly started dating one month ago and that they learned of the relationship from an anonymous caller. "Whoever did call made a good judgment call," said Lt....

Nojoud Muhammed Nasser YT Photo by Hamed Thabet SANA’A, April 9 - An eight-year-old girl decided last week to go the Sana’a West Court to prosecute her father, who forced her to marry a 30-year-old man. Nojoud Muhammed Nasser arrived at court by herself on Wednesday, April 2, looking for a judge to handle her case against her father, Muhammed Nasser, who forced her two months ago to marry Faez Ali Thamer, a man 22 years her senior. The child also asked for a divorce, accusing her husband of sexual and domestic abuse. According to Yemeni law, Nojoud cannot prosecute,...

ADF attorneys represent a Christian photographer being tried under state antidiscrimination laws for declining to photograph a same-sex “commitment ceremony.” “Christians shouldn’t be penalized for abiding by their beliefs. The state cannot force unwilling people to promote a message they disagree with and thereby violate their conscience,” said Lorence. “The state’s prosecution violates our client’s First Amendment rights. The government cannot make people choose between their faith and their job.” A same-sex couple asked Elaine Huguenin, co-owner with her husband of Elane Photography, to photograph a “commitment ceremony” that the two women wanted to hold. Huguenin declined because her Christian...

"When it comes to avoiding a ban for speeding, the courts hear every excuse in the book. But yesterday one motorist offered what must be a unique reason why he should keep his licence. Mohammed Anwar said a ban would make it difficult to commute between his two wives and fulfil his matrimonial duties. His lawyer told a Scottish court the Muslim restaurant owner has one wife in Motherwell and another in Glasgow - he is allowed up to four under his religion - and sleeps with them on alternate nights. He also needed his driving licence to run his...

A SOUTH Australian father and daughter have revealed they are a couple, and have had a child together. John and Jenny Deaves reunited 30 years after Mr Deaves separated from Jenny's mother.

May 28, 2007 1,000 men living legally with multiple wives despite fears over exploitation Dominic Kennedy Polygamous marriage is flourishing as the Government admits for the first time that nearly a thousand men are living legally with multiple wives in Britain. Although the families are entitled to claim social security for each wife, no one has counted how many of them are on benefits. Ministers appear to be ignoring the separate practice of unauthorised polygamy, which is said to have become commonplace in some Muslim communities. The Ministry of Justice admits that it has no estimates of numbers for these...

ABC Primetime has a segment on, now, about a brother and sister who want to marry. First they softened us up with gay "rights" - now, the next rung down the ladder to barbarism. You supporters of Rudy for President - a gay rights advocate - this is what you're buying into: a slippery slope to barbarism.

A German brother and sister who live as a couple and have four children are going to Germany's highest court to try to legalise their relationship. The pair are currently drawing up an appeal to take before Germany's constitutional court. They argue they are being denied the right to sexual freedom.

DENVER -- Democrats pounced on Colorado's Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez and his newly chosen running mate Janet Rowland on Tuesday for comments she made five months ago comparing same-sex marriage to bestiality. In a March 17 broadcast of the Rocky Mountain PBS program "Colorado State of Mind," Rowland said homosexuality is an alternative lifestyle, adding, "For some people, the alternative lifestyle is bestiality. Do we allow a man to marry a sheep?" Democrat Bill Ritter's campaign called the remarks "insensitive, close-minded, derogatory and crude" and demanded an apology. "This shows just how far to the right and out-of-touch the...

Why Polygamy Should Be Legalized Lately, with the FBI's decision to add polygamy sect leader Warren Jeffs to the Most Wanted list, many shows (Anderson Cooper, America's Most Wanted...) have extensively reported on this particular sect. Polygamy in the United States is forbidden. That, believe it or not, is what causes all the problems and what helps arise dangerous sects like the FLDS (Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). How so? Well, Imagine you are a fundamentalist Mormon (NOT a member of that sect) and as such you believe that polygamy is right and you decide...

BELGIUM has voted into law a controversial bill allowing homosexual couples to adopt children, Belga news agency reported. The upper house of parliament, the Senate, today approved the bill by a razor-thin 34 votes to 33, with two abstentions. The vote in the lower house of parliament in December 2005 had also been narrow, at 77 votes to 62, with seven abstentions. Homosexual couples in Belgium won the right to marry in June 2003 and more than 5000 people have taken advantage of that law since it came into force. Now that the new law has been definitively approved, they...

The University of St. Thomas today said it will not let staff or faculty who travel officially with students share a room on those trips with an unmarried partner. The decision by St. Thomas President Rev. Dennis Dease, posted on the St. Thomas Web site this morning, puts into policy the university's position. But it's unlikely to end the controversy that's divided the campus the past few months. While the travel policy affects only a few professors, it became a flashpoint on campus after two professors who live together as unmarried, heterosexual partners were told in December they could travel...

From the time he was in grammar school, George Takei - Sulu from "Star Trek" - knew he was gay. "You know, all the other guys would say, 'Janey's cute.' I'd say, 'Yeah, she's all right,' " Takei told a Madison, WI audience. "But Jimmy..." Takei, who last fall disclosed his sexual orientation publicly, is touring on behalf of the Human Rights Campaign to draw attention to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality. The "Star Trek" star, who turns 69 Thursday, likens the gay rights movement to the civil rights struggles of African-Americans and women in American history. "It's a...

Saudi Author Dr. Muhammad Al-'Arifi on Show Produced by Saudi Ministry of Religious Endowments: Women in the West Marry Dogs and Donkeys; 54% of Danish Women Do Not Know Who Fathered Their Babies Following are excerpts from an interview with Saudi author Dr. Muhammad Al-'Arifi, which aired on Al-Risala TV on April 6, 2006. Dr. Muhammad Al-'Arifi: One of the most important things that distinguish Man from beast is the ability to control one's desires. Allah said about some of the infidels: "They are like cattle; nay, they stray farther off the path." If you look at them, you will...

A Missouri couple say they were denied an occupancy permit for their new home because they're not married. Olivia Shelltrack and Fondray Loving have been together for 13 years and have three children, ages 8, 10 and 15, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. The couple are appealing the occupancy permit denial from the Black Jack, Mo., board of adjustment, which requires people living together to have blood, marriage or adoption ties. Loving is not the father of Shelltrack's oldest child. I was basically told, you can have one child living in your house if you're not married, but more than...

Some Afghan refugees returning home after years abroad are bringing back foreign ways -- the most controversial being the practice of temporary marriage. Temporary marriage, or sigha, is an agreement between a man and a women to get married for a specified time. It has long been practised by Shi'ite Muslims, especially in mostly Shi'ite Iran. Now, the practice is being imported into Afghanistan by some members of the minority Shi'ite community returning home from Iran, to the disapproval of many in conservative, mostly Sunni Afghanistan. "I don't want a permanent husband," said Fatima, a 34-year-old woman divorcee in the...

In the 1978 movie "Same Time, Next Year," a man and a woman meet by chance at a romantic inn, end up in bed together and, though each is married, repeat the rendezvous each year. The film's promo line ran, "They couldn't have celebrated happier anniversaries if they were married to each other." But if palimony were at issue, neither of the trysters could have collected, at least not in New Jersey. On Feb. 6, a state appeals court ruled that without cohabitation, an extramarital romantic relationship -- even one that spanned 70 years -- cannot be a basis for...

The riots in France have made the world suddenly aware of a reality which city dwellers in Europe have known for some years: that there are no-go areas surrounding almost every major European town. These have become virtually self-ruling enclaves, abandoned by European authorities and police. A case in point is the Swedish town of Malmö, which is said to be unique because creeping anarchy has spread to almost the entire town. Another thing which many people have known, but which has never been said aloud, is the spread of polygamy across Western Europe. Since yesterday, when French officials, including...

A proposal to preserve marriage as the union of one man and one woman in Minnesota's Constitution is one of the biggest issues our state will face in the next legislative session. Some people argue that same-sex marriage wouldn't change anybody else's marriage but merely expand the institution to provide equal rights for all. Canada made same-sex marriage the law of the land in June. What's happened there in recent months suggests a different story. Bishop Frederick Henry of the Catholic Diocese of Calgary, Alberta, has been at the forefront of Canada's battle over marriage. On Thursday, he will address...

The Netherlands and Belgium were the first countries to give full marriage rights to homosexuals. In the United States some politicians propose “civil unions” that give homosexual couples the full benefits and responsibilities of marriage. These civil unions differ from marriage only in name. Meanwhile in the Netherlands polygamy has been legalised in all but name. Last Friday the first civil union of three partners was registered. Victor de Bruijn (46) from Roosendaal “married” both Bianca (31) and Mirjam (35) in a ceremony before a notary who duly registered their civil union. “I love both Bianca and Mirjam, so I...

Muslim second wives may get a tax break NICHOLAS HELLEN, SOCIAL AFFAIRS EDITOR THE Inland Revenue is considering recognising polygamy for some religious groups for tax purposes. Officials have agreed to examine “family friendly” representations from Muslims who take up to four wives under sharia, the laws derived from the Koran. Existing rules allow only one wife for inheritance tax purposes. The Revenue has been asked to relax this so that a husband’s estate can be divided tax-free between several wives. The move is bound to create controversy if it leads to a change in the rules. It is seen...

Sen. Kennedy Says Opponents of “Gay Marriage” Are Bigots Sen. Edward Kennedy has told A.P. that opponents of “gay marriage” are bigots. The news service reported last week: “Meanwhile, Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy criticized supporters of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, saying that would be a civil rights setback. “Kennedy said bigotry should not be written into the federal constitution, and constitutional amendments should be about expanding rights and liberties.” Unitarians Confirm Our Forecast that Group Sex Will be Next The Unitarian Church is now welcoming those who believe in group relationships including the practice of “romantic love.”...

OTTAWA -- A convicted killer with a record of drug addiction and fleeing parole has earned a 72-hour conjugal visit with his gay lover at Ontario's Joyceville penitentiary. Kevin Joseph Humphrey, a former fugitive who became subject of a Canada-wide warrant in 2002, spent the past weekend at the so-called "love shack," according to a prison source. When he repeatedly went on the lam, police considered Humphrey dangerous because of his drug addiction and violent criminal record. The former Toronto man was convicted of second-degree murder in the 1983 robbery slaying of Charles Palmer in Minden, Ont. Correctional Service of...

BISMARCK -- First, a series of heterosexual couples kiss. Then, two men are shown about to lock lips. All are dressed for a wedding. That is followed by three people, depicting a wedding of two men and a woman. The campaign commercial's message: Sen. Byron Dorgan supports gay marriage and unless North Dakotans vote for Republican Mike Liffrig for the U.S. Senate, they can "kiss their morals goodbye." Democrats demanded Tuesday that Liffrig pull the plug on that ad and another commercial that claims Dorgan supports human cloning, saying the allegations are lies. The ads began running statewide Monday and...

Last year, singer Melissa Etheridge promised to love and protect her new partner, actress Tammy Lynn Michaels, until death do them part, but she may not be able to leave her songs to Michaels. U.S. copyright law discriminates against homosexuals by not allowing songwriters and other artists to determine conclusively who gets the rights to their work at the time of their death. No matter what an artist's intention, spouses, children and grandchildren, in that order, are the first in line to recapture the copyrights, followed by next of kin, executors and administrators. Since most states do not recognize gay...

To: National Desk Contact: Jeff Lungren or Terry Shawn, 202-225-2492, both of the House Committee on the Judiciary WASHINGTON, July 14 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The House Judiciary Committee today approved by a 21-to-13 margin legislation that would ensure States continue to decide state marriage policy. H.R. 3313, introduced by Rep. John Hostettler (R-Ind.) and amended today by the Committee, removes the federal courts' jurisdiction to hear cases involving the provision in the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that allows States to decide whether to legally recognize out-of-state same-sex marriage licenses. Article III, Section 2, clause 2 of the Constitution...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Efforts to pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage foundered Wednesday afternoon when the proposal failed to garner enough votes in the Senate to stay alive. After final arguments by the leaders of each party, Republicans mustered 48 votes, 12 short of the 60 they needed to overcome a procedural hurdle and move the proposed amendment to the floor.

Ohio University is offering "domestic-partner" benefits to employees, but only same-sex couples can apply. Some critics say the school is setting itself up for a lawsuit by employees who want to add a live-in boyfriend or girlfriend to their insurance plans, the Athens, Ohio, News reported. Eric Clift, a technical services specialist in OU's College of Osteopathic Medicine, told the paper if a heterosexual employee were to legally challenge the new policy as discriminatory, the university might have to either revoke the benefits for gay and lesbian employees, or extend them to straight employees, "which I have to think would...

A new government regulation that requires Muslim men seeking Irish residency to reject polygamy is racist and possibly illegal, Ireland's main civil liberties group said today. The government introduced the written oath this month after rejecting an application from a Lebanese man for both of his wives and all 13 children to be granted residency. A married Muslim man seeking residency must now declare he has "one spouse only" and "has no intention of entering into a simultaneous marriage". The Irish Council for Civil Liberties said the rule amounted to religious discrimination and appeared to contravene the European Convention on...

STRANGE how some people behave! She is in love with a man more than twice her age – which could be usual. She had a ten-year affair with the same man from the age of 15 – that is unusual. But most unusual of all – she has declared her undying love for the same man, but he is her own paternal father! But, that’s not all. The couple sired two siblings from the incestuous affair. This did not take place in one of those Saturday evening African movies but in Harare, the magistrates’ court heard Tuesday. Statement Gamara (52)...

(CNSNews.com) - In a letter to a conservative, pro-family group, the Internal Revenue Service established this week that homosexual couples filing joint tax returns would be in violation of the law under the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The Defense of Marriage Act, signed by President Clinton in 1996, says the states will not be forced to recognize homosexual marriages and it legally defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. "Because of this statute, only married individuals under this definition could elect to file a joint tax return," said the June 14 letter addressed to Public...

These comments drew howls from gay-rights advocates, most of whom, we suspect, were objecting to the implication that homosexuality was comparable to practices like incest and bestiality, which most everyone still agrees are deviant. But Lithwick thinks the slippery-slope argument itself is fundamentally flawed: "The problem with the slippery slope argument is that it depends on inexact, and sometimes hysterical, comparisons," she writes. Also: "Slippery slopes are only metaphors. They are not intrinsic principles of law." Yet the way American constitutional law works, slippery slopes are almost inevitable--a point that is more easily understood if we think of same-sex marriage...

How legalizing gay marriage undermines society's morals By Alan Charles Raul WASHINGTON - The promotion of gay marriage is not the most devastating aspect of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's recent decision. The more destructive impact of the decision for society is the court's insidious denial of morality itself as a rational basis for legislation. This observation is not hyperbole or a mere rhetorical characterization of the Goodridge vs. Department of Public Health decision. The Massachusetts justices actually quoted two opinions of the US Supreme Court (the recent anti-anti-sodomy ruling in Lawrence vs. Texas and an older anti-antiabortion ruling, Planned...

<p>Stanley Shepp wants the right to teach his daughter about polygamy and his religious beliefs.</p> <p>HALLAM, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Tracey L. Roberts isn't trying to stop her ex-husband from voicing his support of polygamy, a belief that broke up their marriage.</p>

<p>A Utah man with five wives is in court fighting to get his bigamy conviction overturned on the basis of the U.S. Supreme Court's June ruling that decriminalized homosexual relations.</p> <p>The legal action by polygamist Tom Green in the Utah Supreme Court seems to confirm predictions of a Republican lawmaker and other social conservatives who warned that the high court's decision would open the door to attempts to legalize other sexual activities that historically have been outlawed by states, such as bigamy, polygamy, prostitution, adult incest and even bestiality.</p>

Think back: How long ago would you have scoffed at the idea of two men getting married? Or the Supreme Court endorsing sodomy? Or "domestic partners" enjoying the same rights and benefits as married couples? Or network television featuring shows with gays and lesbians? Or companies such as Avis announcing, "Domestic partners are automatically included as additional drivers. No extra fees charged. No questions asked." Or even that you would take the term "sexual rights" seriously? It wasn't that long ago. The forces for perversion have subjected us to a propaganda campaign of such intensity that most Americans have surrendered...

Same-sex marriage is as controversial among local African-Americans as it is across the nation, but blacks are more likely than the population as a whole to oppose gay marriage, according to polls. "I'm glad there's a separation of church and state," said the Rev. J. Anthony Lloyd of Greater Framingham Community Church. "I'm not going to marry same-sex couples in my church." But the movement has gathered some high-profile supporters. The two African-American candidates for president, Carol Mosely Braun of Illinois and the Rev. Al Sharpton of New York, have previously spoken in favor of the rights of gays and...

By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer November 23, 2003, 2:55 PM EST NEW YORK -- The choices can be wrenching: skirting the law, leaving one's country, splitting up with one's lover. Under U.S. immigration policy, those are the options facing many same-sex couples when one partner is American, the other a foreigner. "They're in a double closet of being gay or lesbian, and being an immigrant -- people don't feel safe talking about it," said Sophie Fanelli, a French woman unsure if she will be able to remain with her American partner in California beyond next year. When a binational...

<p>JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Puspo Wardoyo made a fortune setting up a chain of grilled-chicken restaurants across this vast archipelago. Now he's building a franchise in something closer to home: wives.</p> <p>Mr. Puspo, 47 years old, says Muslim men should live "according to true Islamic teachings," by taking at least a second wife, and preferably four -- as he has. The restaurateur has turned himself into one of Indonesia's most prominent pitchmen for a practice long frowned upon here.</p>

<p>Marriage has its advantages but some think the nation’s laws give married couples too much favorable treatment and the only way to even the playing field is to de-legalize the institution.</p> <p>A group of legal scholars and gay advocacy groups are calling for marriage to be de-legalized in order to make the distribution of benefits more fair for people who aren’t married, including gay couples.</p>

"Sexually Inclusive Christians" Celebrate Victories, Push for More Mark Tooley August 22, 2003 When arguing for church acceptance of homosexuality, most advocates talk about monogamy. But others are bolder. “I am a strong ally of those in healthy, polyamorous relationships,” declared Debra Kolodny. She argued that having multiple sexual partners can be “holy.” Kolodyn was leading a workshop at the WOW (Witness Our Welcome) 2003 convention, an ecumenical gathering for “sexually and gender inclusive Christians.” Hundreds of homosexual, bisexual, and heterosexual people gathered under the “queer” banner in Philadelphia August 14-17 to urge religious acceptance of non-traditional sexual behaviors. According...

Our either-or cultural template has come to an unattractive head during the recent Gay Moment, as these days are being dubbed. Of course we've already named it. We can't just let an epic or a decade or a moment slip by without a title. A label. A category. Labeling, in fact, is one of our favorite things in compulsive, either/or America. As in, you're either for us or against us. You're either from Mars or from Venus. You're either pro-gay marriage - or you're a right-wing, fascist, dogmatic homophobe. Well, no, not really. Sometimes you're not a homophobe, but you...

Transexuals will be allowed to marry in their adoptive sex and apply for birth certificates showing their new genders under new Government proposals. But in a concession to the Anglican Church, priests will for the first time be able to refuse to carry out a marriage ceremony if the bride or groom is a transexual. Minister at the Department for Constitutional Affairs, Lord Filkin, said the concession was a result of "disquiet" from some in the Church over the new rights. Transexuals who want to register under their new genders will be able to apply to a new authorising body,...

Is It A Fundamental Constitutional Right To Have Sex With Children, Too? By Lowell Phillips Tuesday July 8, 2003 Toogood Reports "This is a glorious and beautiful time to be queer." Don't start hammering out the hate mail just yet. Those aren't my words, but those of a bona fide "gay rights" activist. Amid the orgy of celebration (pun intended) following the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in Lawrence v. Texas, striking down sodomy laws, Molly McKay, spokeswoman for Marriage Equality California proclaimed, "This month has been filled with hope... This is a glorious and beautiful time to be queer." Few...

Spurred on by the Supreme Court's landmark ruling decriminalizing gay sexual conduct, both sides in the debate over gay rights are vowing an intense state-by-state fight over deeply polarizing questions, foremost among them whether gays should be allowed to marry. Even with most legislatures out of session until early next year, lively debates are already taking shape across the country, from Hawaii to Connecticut, Oregon to Alabama to Massachusetts. Potentially fierce battles over marriage and other rights loom in dozens of statehouses and state courts, as social conservatives — including the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist of Tennessee — try...

You may not know how the town of Springfield, home to the Simpsons, was founded. In the late 1790s Jebediah Springfield and his partner Shelbyville Manhattan led a group of pioneers across the country to start a new community. They finally stopped at a beautiful spot atop a hill looking down on a lush valley: Jebediah: People, our search is over! On this site we shall build a new town where we can worship freely, govern justly, and grow vast fields of hemp for making rope and blankets. Shelbyville: Yes, and marry our cousins.Jebediah: I was — what are...