Australian society still has some archaic laws which are biased towards one form or other of Christianity.

For example?

Yes as an atheist I find it very offensive when the god botherers turn up on my doorstep, how would they like it if I went down to their local church and preached there is no god you've all been had?

Provided you obeyed relevant laws regarding private property, harassment etc, you would both be exercising your rights. Rights and freedoms make some people uncomfortable, but that should never be an excuse to take those rights away. Just ask them to leave, the same way you would a phone salesman. You sound just like the radical Muslims who pretend that the fact that they take offence is a reasonable excuse for denying us our rights.

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Malik mentioned earlier that cheating should be illegal. This is a stupid idea as it would deny us basic rights and further objectify women. If your wife cheats on you your only legal recourse should be divorce. You should not be allowed to beat her, put her in jail, or put her on the street with no income, no assets and three children to care for.

The government has no place in people's bedrooms.

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Interesting article - also goes on about Mormons.

Probing polygamy

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23922968-5010800,00.html

WHEN his wife was away in Lebanon for several months with their six children, Keysar Trad was lonely and considered taking a second wife.

The family has been subjected to a barrage of criticism after Trad went against his mother's advice and commented publicly on polygamy this week. Trad supports a call by imam Sheik Khalil Chami, from the Islamic Welfare Centre in Lakemba, NSW for polygamous marriages to be legally recognised.

It follows the British Government's announcement in February of new guidelines that legally recognise polygamous marriages and allow men to claim social welfare for each spouse. While it remains illegal for a married man to marry another woman in Britain, polygamous marriages that take place in countries where the arrangement is legal will be legally recognised. The move came a year after the British Government admitted polygamous marriages were flourishing in Britain and that nearly 1000 men were living legally with multiple wives.

There are no official figures showing how many people live in polygamous relationships in Australia. But Chami says he's asked almost weekly to perform polygamous religious ceremonies.

Chami has refused, but he and Trad agree that officially recognising polygamous marriages would have help protect the rights of the women in these relationships.

Trad says women are left in a vulnerable financial position if the man dies. "If this woman has wilfully chosen to enter into this relationship and make a lifelong commitment to this person to be married, it shouldn't matter," he says.

"If it was a business and the business had four partners, we'd recognise that, but why don't we recognise it when it comes to consensual relationships among adults?"

In Australia it is illegal to enter into a polygamous marriage. But the federal government, like Britain, recognises relationships that have been legally recognised overseas, including polygamous marriages. This allows second wives and children to claim welfare and benefits.

But anyone like Trad considering a polygamous marriage within Australia has been warned off by federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland.

"Everyone should be on notice that the law in Australia is that marriage is between a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others," McClelland says. "It's based on the culture of our community and polygamous relationships are entirely inconsistent with that culture and indeed with the law."

Under Islamic or sharia law, multiple wives and children must be treated equally. If the father dies, then wives and children equally share his estate.

Australian Federation of Islamic Councils interim president Haset Sali says the Koran makes it clear the Islamic legal system can provide for more than one wife.

But that was written when many women suffered in unfortunate financial circumstances and the ratio of women to men was about three to one. Sali says the Koran also states the overriding principal that the man must be fair to each wife and treat them equally. "I don't know anyone who can be 100 per cent fair to both women," Sali says. "It might have been appropriate in ancient history, but I don't see it as something that works in the 21st century."

Polygamy is common in Indonesia, where most of the population is Muslim, but it remains a controversial lifestyle choice. A popular view in Indonesia is that polygamy can be an easy way out of an unhappy marriage or a means for a restless husband to satisfy wandering desires without the bother and financial penalty of divorce.

However, late last year the Indonesian courts upheld the right of a man to take another wife after a Jakarta businessman took his case to court. Despite his victory, Mohommad Insa was disappointed at limitations put on the practice, including the requirement that an existing spouse be informed of her husband's intention.

"In Islam there is no such regulation, such as needing the agreement of your wife, or that you can only do it if she's crippled," an indignant Insa said.

But they are not trying to 'make' you. They are giving you a choice, in the same way that you encourage others to choose atheism. Your freedom does not extent to preventing people from being able to tell you something you might not want to hear.

Even in the age of condoms, testing, cures and advanced science we still have big problems with STD's. This is another reason against polygamy, or polyomy. Obviously if you are after a second wife, you are going to want to 'try before you buy'. It pretty much defeats the purpose of marriage. You might as well stick to 'defacto' relationships.

Would you mind clarifying those terms for us Sappho?

Don't quote me, and then give "YOUR" interpretation of what I mean.

Feel free to explain yourself. It sounds to us like you are just whingeing because religious people are allowed to knock on your door and save your soul.

Mozz I'm just pointing out the logical flaws in your argument. Don't take it personally.

Malik Shakur wrote on Jun 26^th, 2008 at 10:42am:


Some bloke robbing a bank or stealing a car doesn't affect me much personally either normally, doesn't make it right though.  If you don't like the laws here....