Free Republic

Bill Dalrymple, 56, and best friend Bryan Pinn, 65, have decided to take the plunge and try out the new same-sex marriage legislation with a twist -- they're straight men. "I think it's a hoot," Pinn said. The proposal came last Monday on the patio of a Toronto bar amid shock and laughter from their friends. But the two -- both of whom were previously married and both of whom are still looking for a good woman to love -- insist that after the humour subsided, a real issue lies at the heart of it all. "There are significant tax...

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>

A U.S. Senate subcommittee on Thursday afternoon will hear testimony on whether a constitutional amendment is needed to "defend" the Defense of Marriage Act. That law -- signed by former President Bill Clinton in 1996 -- defines marriage as the legal union between one man and one woman; and it says the states do not have to recognize same-sex "marriages" conducted elsewhere. Some conservative groups insist that the federal law is not enough, especially in light of recent court rulings that advance the homosexual agenda. They say a constitutional amendment is needed to protect the intent of the Defense of...