Believe Marriage is Between a Man and a Woman? You Would You Tyrant!

Here's one to mull over at the water cooler:

Introducing polygamy in the wake of same-sex marriage might not be such a bad idea, according to a writer who has criticised the “tyranny of the heterosexual couple form”.

Writing in The Guardian, Laurie Penny said she “can’t be the only one” who wonders if there are some positives to multi-partner marriage.

And commenting on a recent BBC radio programme that predicted monogamy would lose its “moral monopoly” within 10 years, Miss Penny said: “Bring it on”.

‘Non-monogamy’

She said: “Personally, I started practicing non-monogamy in my early 20s as a statement against the tyranny of the heterosexual couple form and the patriarchal nuclear family”.

Miss Penny mocked warnings from opponents of same-sex marriage that polygamy could be next, and she remarked: “I can’t be the only one who wondered if that’d be such a bad idea.”

Miss Penny, who describes herself as a “journalist, author, feminist, troublemaker, utopian”, made the comments in the wake of a BBC programme on polygamy entitled Monogamy and the Rules of Love.

Choice

The programme featured a number of interviews with people in polyamorous relationships, which are intimate relationships between three or more people at the same time.

Presenter Jo Fidgen questioned whether there is still room for sexual fidelity in a “society where choice is everything”.

Miss Fidgen interviewed a ‘polyamorous family’ who share a house in Sheffield.

Charlie is a woman who has been married to Tom for six years. Tom is also in a relationship with Sarah, with Charlie’s approval.

Three parents

Subsequently, Sarah and Charlie also began a relationship. Then Sarah got engaged to a man called Chris. And Charlie tells the programme, “somewhere along the line I fell in love with Chris and now we’re all planning to grow old together”.

Nah... no slippery slope in that whole gay marriage thing... none at all.

And yes, I'm aware that traditional marriage has been made a mockery of by heterosexuals who bounce in and out of marriages faster than you can say no-fault divorce.

The question becomes whether or not these redefinitions are going to be forced on those of us who yet still see God to be at the center of a union between a man and a woman.

Nah... that ain't gonna happen:

A gay couple in Great Britain has announced plans to pursue legal action against the Church of England for refusing to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies, less than one month after the country officially legalized gay mariage, but explicitly excluded the Church from being forced to conduct the ceremonies as they go against biblical teachings.

Barrie Drewitt-Barlow and his partner, Tony, have been considered by many in Great Britain to be the "poster couple" for same-sex marriage legalization, as they became the first gay parents in 1999 through surrogacy, and have since had five other children through surrogacy. The couple had a civil partnership ceremony in 2006, and own a surrogate center in Chandlers Quay, Maldon. 

The gay marriage legislation approved in Great Britain earlier this year, known as the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013, included a "quadruple lock" meant to protect the Church of England and other religious institutions from being forced to perform same-sex marriages against their faith. Under the current law, churches may "opt-in" to perform same-sex marriages, but they cannot be forced to conduct ceremonies.

Despite that highly-publicized safeguard being included in the legislation, many critics believed that gay activists would ignore that exclusion and continue to push for churches to be forced to participate in gay marriage ceremonies against their will. Now just weeks after the legislation was passed, it appears those fears were well-founded; Drewitt-Barlow and his partner argue that they wish to "test" this protection in court. The couple have claimed that they are practicing Christians and they want their children to see them wed in a church ceremony.

"We are happy for gay marriage to be recognised – in that sense it is a big step. But it is actually a small step because it is something we still cannot actually do," Drewitt-Barlow told the Essex Chronicle in a recent interview, adding he and his partner "need to convince the church that it is the right thing for our community for them to recognize as practicing Christians."

"It upsets me because I want it so much – a big lavish ceremony, the whole works, I just don't think it is going to happen straight away," Drewitt-Barlow continued, adding "as much as people are saying this is a good thing I am still not getting what I want."

And it's all about gays getting what they want, whether you want what they want or not... you tyrant.

Sigh.

H/T for the first piece to The Crescat.