Others May Consent to Something You Wouldn't

I'm bumping up this good entry from a while back... “Anonymous” left a comment on the post "Bigotry Expressed.” My response is below.Thank you, Anonymous, for your thoughtful consideration and for comment.I do not think she makes a good argument, because she expresses blanket certainty about diverse things about which she could not possibly be certain. There are adult children who are emphatic that they freely consent to have sex with a parent, some of whom claim to be the initiator, and others who would like to, but haven’t. It is their experienced word against her inexperienced word. Has she interviewed everyone involved and performed careful psychological analysis of each case?If she had said that some apparently consensual cases could be the result of selfish grooming on the part of a...

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Posted in: boundaries,freedom to marry,incest,law,love

Another Ally For the Polygamous Freedom to Marry

I asked if Brazil will lead the way to full marriage equality. Responding to the same story, Jean Hannah Edelstein asked at guardian.co.uk, "Why shouldn't three people get married?" Photograph: Stone/Getty ImagesAnd yet as we shoehorn ourselves into two-by-two formation, we're not that good at keeping our promises: as Helen Croydon has pointed out, breaking the boundaries of monogamy is far from unusual. Plenty of marriages have three people in them. They're just not legal ones.I know a beautiful triad, or thruple. They want to get married under the law, and they have a marriage better than anything else I've seen. Why are they denied?The government can dictate that two people should be in a marriage, but it can't legislate what...

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Posted in: allies,boundaries,Brazil,freedom to marry,law,monogamy,polyamory,polygamy,triads

Nobody Could Defend the Denial of Polygamous Freedom to Marry

I asked this question at Yahoo Answers....Is there any good reason to still deny the polygamous freedom to marry?To pre-empt the usual Discredited Arguments, I gave a long explanation...By polygamy, I'm not just talking about polygyny (one man, multiple women) but any form of polygamy, including polyandry (one woman, multiple men), three or more men, three or more women, or multiple women and multiple men. If they are all CONSENTING ADULTS I just don't see why the fundamental right to marry is denied to people who want more than two people involved.Please do not cite problems for women and children in communities where polygyny is the only form of polygamy allowed, being gay or lesbian is shunned and/or illegal and women would be denied equal...

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Posted in: freedom to marry,myths,polygamy,prejudice,stigma

Ten Tips for Social Security Planning

We here at the Law Blogger are quietly aging along with the rest of our fellow Baby Boomer generation.  A good chunk of this generation is slipping into retirement mode; slowly, but as surely as ever.Here are some things to keep in mind as you approach the age where certain decisions need to be made; and elections need to be taken relative to the mighty Social Security Administration.Many folks are faced with a bewildering array of options regarding their social security benefit.  When should  you start taking the benefit?  At the earliest possible age of 62; or should you wait [can you afford to wait] until age 70? These tips are merely general principles, not intended as specific legal advice.  Here are some things...

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Posted in: divorce,estate planning,income tax,lawyer,retirement,Roth IRA,Social Security,spousal benefit

Criminal Sentences For Consensual Sex in New Zealand

As New Zealand moves towards the limited same-gender freedom to marry, it is still criminally sentencing some adults for consensual sex. Updating this possible Genetic Sexual Attraction case I blogged about months ago, this report comes from BNO news…A father and daughter in New Zealand who say they are in love with each other have been told by a judge to end their incestuous relationship, warning that future incest could land them in prison, a local newspaper reported on Wednesday.How ridiculous for a judge to tell adults in love with each other that they can’t even love each other the way they want.The father, 32, and his daughter, 18, appeared in Dunedin District Court on Tuesday and admitted to having an incestuous relationship which began...

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Posted in: breaking up homes,children,consanguineous,courts,father-daughter,GSA,incest,lack of equality harms,love,myths,New Zealand,prejudice,prosecution

Reunited and It Feels So Good

Every once in a while, I find a question asked at Yahoo Answers that appears to be referring to Genetic Sexual Attraction, such as this one by kinkajuu, asked in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered area...Whats wrong with incest?i am a 23 yr old man, and i love my twin brotherthe only reason incest is considered wrong, is genetic mutations from brother and sisters reproducingIt's not the only reason people give, but it is one of the most common Discredited Arguments. since we are gay, and love eachother, we cannot have children. so the only problem is gone.so why is it viewed as wrong!?we were seperated at birth, when we were 23, 6 months ago, we met and fell in love with eachotherwe live in a state where gay marriage is legal.Later,...

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Posted in: brother-brother,consanguineous,freedom to marry,GSA,incest,LGBT,love,prejudice,same-sex,siblings

Polygynists, Obama, and Romney

I've mentioned before the polygyny in the heritage of both President Obama and his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney. Thanks to Jesse Walker at reason.com for calling my attention to McKay Coppins' article at buzzfeed.com, "Polygamists See Themselves in Romney, Obama Family Trees."Anne Wilde still clearly remembers the moment she watched Mitt Romney throw his heritage under the bus.A practicing polygamist and leading advocate for "plural marriage" rights, Wilde had watched Romney's political rise over the years with an unusual sense of personal investment. She knew his agenda wouldn’t include the polygamist equality that she’d spent years fighting for as co-founder of the advocacy group Principle Voices. She knew he was just a politician...

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Posted in: freedom to marry,Islam,lack of equality harms,law,LDS,Mexico,polygamy,polygyny,religion,solidarity,Utah

A Loving Couple Denied the Freedom to Marry

[Note: I bumped this entry up because it deserves attention.][Anonymous Daughter] is a woman who had been regularly contributing to the original Genetic Sexual Attraction forum. That forum was mostly operated towards helping those who are struggling with their feelings of attraction and experiences related to reuniting with long-lost biological relatives, and for their family members who are dealing with the fallout. For some, though, the only struggle with GSA has to do with the prejudice and pressures from others, including people who have experienced GSA, who do not want them to have consanguinamorous relationships involving sexual contact. In other words, some people experiencing GSA do not struggle with it; they embrace and enjoy it.[Anonymous Daughter], who stands up for those experiencing...

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Posted in: Canada,children,consanguineous,family reaction,father-daughter,GSA,incest,lack of equality harms,love,monogamy,reunion

Polyamory Isn't All About Sex

Because of recently increased interest in polyamory, I am bumping this entry up.Robyn Trask, writing about being poly, asks, “What’s Sex Got To Do With It?”American culture is challenged when it comes to sex and this generates much confusion. Sex is an important part of many romantic relationships but it is not the end all and be all. Sex has been equated with romantic love for centuries and, in more recent years, with monogamous marriage and commitment. Sex, love, romance and intimacy are not all the same thing and you can have one without the other.Polyamory is more about romance and love than sex. The non-poly world just does not seem to get it; it’s not about the sex. Yes, poly relationships include sex but just like monogamous ones people are there for love, romance, intimacy and numerous...

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Posted in: lack of equality harms,love,polyamory,stigma

Debt Relief: Student Loans

Ever since the Great Recession put the strangle hold on the U.S. economy back in 2008, the default rate on student loans has skyrocketed.  This in turn has increased the debt collection case-load among the various United States Attorneys.Michigan, hit particularly hard in the recession, is ranked 11th among the states in overall student debt load.  A full ten percent of the loans to Michigan students are defaulted.  The problem has become so acute, the U.S. Attorney's Detroit office hired a private law firm to aggressively pursue claims against students that defaulted on federal government loans.Due to the number of public and private educational institutions located within the jurisdiction of the United States District Court...

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Posted in: attorney,bankruptcy,Detroit,forbearance,student loan,United States Attorney,United States District Court

The State of Georgia Still Arresting Consenting Adults

According to Sarah Bakhtiari, reporting at norcross.patch.com...Gwinnett County Police arrested an uncle and nephew on incest charges early Friday at a business in an unincorporated area between Norcross and Peachtree Corners.Around 3 a.m. Aug. 17, a security guard called authorities to report that two people had entered a semi-trailer behind a business on the 6400 block of Atlantic Boulevard near Jimmy Carter Boulevard.According to the police report, officers made demands for the people to exit the trailer, and they did so without incident. Police immediately arrested the two for loitering and prowling since they "had no reason to be at the closed business."If they owned the trailer and were inside the trailer what was the problem, really?Police noted that at first, the two people...

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Posted in: consanguineous,Georgia,incest,lack of equality harms,law,LGBT,prejudice,uncle-niece

Cooley Law In-Line with National Trends in Legal Industry

By now, we've heard the familiar tales-of-woe within the legal industry: too many lawyers; no jobs for newly-minted lawyers; young graduates are slaves to their law school tuition debts; and, the legal service industry is contracting.With such a gloomy backdrop, the nation's largest law school, Thomas M. Cooley Law School, provides an interesting petre dish to test these national trends.  Sure enough, Cooley seems to bear out what is happening in law schools and legal service markets across the country.The first trend of note is the steady decline in law school enrollment.  According to statistics published by the Law School Admission Council [publishers of the LSAT entrance exam], law schools have experienced more than a 30% decline...

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Posted in: ABA,American Bar Association,Bureau of Labor Statistics,Cooley Law School,Don Leduc,Lansing State Journal,law student,lawyer,National Association of Legal Professionals,National Law Journal

Encouragement From a Friend

I was very pleased that our friend Liz left a couple of comments yesterday. I had lost contact with her for a while and I was a bit worried. She and her brother have a beautiful consanguinamorous relationship that has included a beautiful child. Liz and Ryan are an inspiration. She wrote:People will come up will all kinds of reasons to explain why consanguineous relationships are wrong or immoral. I just hope that those attitudes change one day. I am in love with my brother, and I feel no shame in that. We have a healthy daughter together. I made sure to see my doctor regularly to make sure the baby was developing normally. As someone mentioned here, there are ways to make sure that genetic risks are managed.I do wish that I could tell everyone that he is my brother and how great things have...

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Posted in: brother-sister,children,consanguineous,freedom to marry,help,lack of equality harms,siblings

Another Very Active Woman

After I interviewed Chrissy, her friend Megan agreed to be interviewed. Like her friend Chrissy, Megan has quite the sex life, and is explicit in answering my questions.Megan is bisexual, polyamorous and told me she's in a consanguinamorous relationship with her brother and with her parents.****FME: Describe your background.Megan: My name is Megan. I'm a 19 year old musician who lives in North Florida. I'm Egyptian, but was raised in America.FME: When and how did you realize you were bisexual? Do you consider yourself polyamorous?I knew I was bi in elementary school, because I kept getting crushes on all the girls in my class. I'm polyamorous. I f--- whoever I want, and that won't change even if I get a mate.FME: Do you live with your family?I...

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Posted in: bisexual,brother-sister,consanguineous,father-daughter,LGBT,love,mother-daughter,open,polyamory,same-sex,siblings

A Very Active Woman

Most of the interviews I have posted have been with people who have been in love and have wanted to marry or have it as a real option or the future, but have been prevented due to a lack of marriage equality. This blog also supports other relationship rights for adults, regardless of race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation, who should not only be free to marry other consenting adults, but free to share love, sex, and residence whether or not they marry. I met “Chrissy” through Yahoo Answers and she was generous enough with her time to do this interview. She’s unapologetically robust in her sex life and does not shy away from talking explicitly about it.*****FME: Describe your background.Chrissy: My name is Chrissy. I'm 19 years old, am...

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Posted in: bisexual,boundaries,LGBT,open,polyamory

Consumer Reports Reviews Self-Help Legal Sites

In today's world, everybody wants to be the lawyer.Consumer Reports, that trusty publication that does in-depth research on products that we consumers know little about, has targeted three of the most popular self-help legal websites in the attached report.  The web sites reviewed are Legal Zoom; Nolo; and Rocket Lawyer.The most popular of the three sites is Legal Zoom, founded by Los Angeles lawyer Robert Shapiro, and hawked by the likes of Rush Limbaugh.The CP review of the sites is luke warm, as you may expect.  The general conclusion is that, if you have a very simple matter, these sites are "better than nothing."  If you have any complexity to your legal matter, however, you will be better off hiring a lawyer.As any lawyer...

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Posted in: Consumer Reports,lawyer,Legal Zoom,Nolo,Robert Shapiro,Rocket Lawyer,self-help legal sites

Former Lesbian Finds Religion Kidnaps Child

.This case from Vermont displays some of the worst features of a parent taking family law into her own hands.  It is one thing for a parent to denounce her same-sex union and her lesbianism; it is entirely another to then plunge into a "born-again" culture, kidnapping her child to Central America and removing her from the other legal parent.The case of Lisa Miller, Janet Jenkins and their 10-year old daughter, Isabella, is in the headlines as the Mennonite pastor that assisted Miller in fleeing the country goes on trial today in federal court in Burlington, Vermont.  No one knows where Miller and Isabella are today; Jenkins has not seen her daughter in over 3-years.The civil union between the two women began to deteriorate 8-years...

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Posted in: child custody,family court,family law,Janet Jenkins,Lisa Miller,Mennonite,same sex parents,same sex union,Vermont