http://ago.mobile.globeandmail.com/generated/archive/RTGAM/html/20070810/wcopoly11.html

Same-sex marriage opens up the possibility of polygamy because it detaches marriage from the biological reality of the basic procreative relationship between one man and one woman and that means there is no longer any inherent reason to limit it to two people whether of the same or opposite sex. Once that biological reality is removed as the central, essential feature and “limiting device,” marriage can become whatever we choose to define it as. ...

It is only when marriage is built on the natural procreative relationship between one man and one woman that it can establish the same reciprocal rights and duties between the married partners (polygamy contravenes this requirement) and between them and their biological children in order to create a family structure in which children know and are reared by their own biological parents (same-sex marriage contravenes this) and can best thrive. Other models of marriage cannot fulfill all these goals...

"State calls NJ church suit "premature"

BY BILL BOWMAN

OCEAN GROVE — A federal lawsuit filed by the Camp Meeting Association against the state Division on Civil Rights is "premature'' because the division has taken no action yet, a division spokesman said.

Spokesman Lee Moore said that while the division has not yet been served with the suit, which was filed electronically Saturday by the Scottsdale, Az.-based Alliance Defense Fund, "the lawsuit appears to be premature.''

"To date, the Division on Civil Rights has asserted nothing beyond its right to initiate an investigation to determine whether there has been a violation of the Law Against Discrimination,'' said Moore, reading from a prepared statement. "By statute, it is the division's duty to investigate any charges of discrimination filed with it, and the agency does so in response to nearly 1,300 formal complaints a year.'' . . ."

"Russians get day off to procreate, then win prizes
Moscow - A Russian region of Ulyanovsk has found a novel way to fight the nation's birth-rate crisis: It has declared Sept. 12 the Day of Conception and for the third year running is giving couples time off from work to procreate.

The hope is for a brood of babies exactly nine months later on Russia's national day. Couples who "give birth to a patriot" during the June 12 festivities win money, cars, refrigerators and other prizes.

Ulyanovsk, about 550 miles east of Moscow, has held similar contests since 2005. Since then, the number of competitors, and the number of babies born to them, has been on the rise. . ."

Lesbians reject YMCA agreement By MELISSA WALKER

An agreement that was supposed to end a five-year fight between the Des Moines YMCA and a lesbian couple who wanted a family membership only intensified the debate Monday.

Greater Des Moines YMCA officials had agreed to settle a human rights complaint and expand their definition of "family" to include M and Sandra Patton-Imani, a Des Moines lesbian couple joined in a civil union in Vermont in 2000. But the couple refused to sign the document when they found out it contained a confidentiality clause.

"We can't honor that," Sandra Patton-Imani said. "We're not going to be gagged on this."

YMCA president Vernon Delpesce said the local branch would rewrite its rules to include adults who share a household. Couples would qualify for family status if they meet criteria on length of co-habitation, joint property purchases, and other areas addressed in "common-law" marriages. . ."

"The Sacrifices of Albania's 'Sworn Virgins'
A Rockville Filmmaker Tells Of an Old Custom That Both Liberates and Limits Women

When the Albanian journalist and author Elvira Dones was traveling in the mountains of northern Albania, she asked for directions from someone she thought was a man walking his mule through a village, rifle on shoulder.

After the exchange, her guide whispered, "That is one of them."

Dones, who lives in Rockville, had just met an adherent of an ancient northern Albanian tradition in which women take an oath of lifelong virginity in exchange for the right to live as men. The process is not surgical -- in these mountains there is little knowledge that sex-change surgery is even possible. Rather, sworn virgins cut their hair and wear baggy men's clothes and take up manly livelihoods as shepherds or truck drivers or even political leaders. And those around them -- despite knowing the sworn virgins are women -- treat them as men. . . .

Dones, 47, learned about sworn virgins 25 years ago from her university classmates in Albania's capital, Tirana. The practice has existed at least since the 15th century, when the traditions of the region were first codified, according to Dones. The sworn virgins came into being for emergencies: If the patriarch of the family died and there was no other man to carry on, a provision was needed so that a woman could run her family. . ."

"Are Open Marriages More Successful Than Traditional Couplings? A New Generation Tries Swinging, but Leaves the Leisure Suits in the Closet"

LAWYERS have told the Roman Catholic Church that it cannot sack a Catholic headmaster who has entered a civil partnership with a male teacher.

The Archdiocese of Liverpool has been unable to take action against Charles Coyne, the head of St Cecilia's primary school, who has registered a partnership with Richard Jones, who is believed to work at a nearby school.

Pope Benedict XVI has called civil partnerships "anarchic'' and a danger to the family...

...The archdiocese - which is headed by Archbishop Patrick Kelly, the second most senior cleric in England and Wales - said it was powerless.

It said in a statement that Mr Coyne had run St Cecilia's for many years and "matters relating to his personal life have in no way interfered with his management of the school''...

..."Legal advice was sought,'' [a spokesman for the archdiocese] said. "The Church was advised that in this case nothing could be done, despite the fact that the head was acting contrary to Church teaching.''