Slippery slope? It’ll never happen, they said…
A federal court lawsuit was filed yesterday challenging Montana’s ban on polygamous marriages. Nathan and Vicki Collier were legally married in 2000. Nathan is now seeking a marriage license to legally marry Christine Parkinson who has also been living as his wife in Read more
Update: As Chief Justice John Roberts predicted: Inspired by SCOTUS ruling, polygamous Montana trio applies for wedding license.
While some have hailed the US Supreme Court‘s ruling last week (available in PDF here) that expanded the legal definition of marriage to include homosexuals, few have noted Justice Anthony Kennedy’s careful wording that actually restricted the definition of marriage:
The Fourteenth Amendment requires a State to license a marriage between two people of the same sex and to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex… Read more
A US Army Chaplain’s comments on the upcoming Supreme Court hearings on the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), regarding his faith and religious liberty:
“If DOMA is declared unconstitutional, then it will initiate the assured drive in our society and government to give warrant and support to numerous other unspeakable sexual acts as normative. In the past two years since DADT was repealed, (which was the vehicle by which homosexuals gained official government recognition and approval of their immoral lifestyle), we have seen appeals by those who advocate for the public acceptance of polygamy, pedophilia and even bestiality in our educational institutions and government, using the very same fallacious arguments the homosexual movement has used over the last several decades to gain public acceptance. And just last week there was a public call in the national media for the US military to now allow those given to transvestism (cross dressing) to also have the freedom to openly serve in our ranks. The repeal to DADT certainly opened Pandora’s Box. But striking down DOMA would pry it open.
“If DOMA is repealed, it will hit the military first. And no one will face the pressure, persecution and disfavor more than the military chaplains. Why? Because we are the Read more
While Canada’s acceptance of homosexuality was occasionally held up as a contrast to their southern cousins in the United States, it seems Canada hasn’t worked out all the moral issues associated with “sexual freedom,” either.
In late November British Columbia’s superior trial court upheld Canada’s law banning polygamy and polyamory.
Interestingly, the court found that such prohibitions did violate the religious liberty of some groups — including some Mormons, Muslims, and Wiccans — but the law Read more
Though the trend is arguably decades old, recent court cases and public events have demonstrated the apparent moral (and legal) confusion over sexual behavior in the United States (and elsewhere). Of course, when right and wrong are decided by the tide of opinion and relativism, it’s not unforeseeable. As noted below, the US Congress is even trying to redefine “rape” in the military context.
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a denial of a habeas corpus petition by Paul Lowe, a man charged with adult incest with his 22-year-old step-daughter (Lowe v. Stark County Sherriff, No. 09-3942 (6th Cir. Dec. 8, 2011)). The decision cites a wide variety of cases, some supporting his position and many not. The court ultimately decided (as have others) there is no fundamental right to sexual conduct, even private behavior between consenting adults.
The court also said Lowe’s complaints the law was “morality-based” were Read more
Below:
A few different sources, including Dr. Albert Mohler, have recently brought up the case of David Epstein, a professor of political science at Columbia University. Apparently Epstein was recently charged with incest over a sexual relationship with his adult daughter.
The natural question, of course, is why?
If what two consenting adults do is no one else’s business, why is incest illegal? If reproduction is not germane, then the traditional genetic argument fails.
On what moral basis, then, is incest illegal?
Over at the SoldiersPerspective, a similar question is raised: Read more