Free Republic

Here is another example of how the "Religion of Peace" treats its women. Setareh, an 80-year-old Iranian Muslim woman has never married, but one day her childhood sweet heart showed up and proposed. Sounds like a beautiful story right? Well she cant get married without her father's permission. And since her father abandoned her family 78 years ago, she doesn't know where he is or even if he is still ALIVE? More below:

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...