http://babelwright.wordpress.com/2012/09/19/if-you-allow-gay-marriage-incest-will-be-next/

While the HRA amendment has NOTHING to do with marriage, hopefully this article clears up some things for you regarding homosexuality vs. incest.

“The “gay marriage slippery slope” argument is based on the idea that the only thing justifying making incest, animal marriage, polygamy, etc., illegal is a commitment to traditional or moral values, and if we throw those out to allow gay people to marry, then on what grounds will we be able to argue against incest etc.?

What anyone is making this argument is missing is there are arguments against incest, etc. that do not apply to gay marriage.

There is not a slippery slope from gay marriage to incest. If you’ve already ascended and started heading down the hill of “gay people can marry because they’re people too, and damn the tradition” there is still another treacherous moral mountain you’d have to climb and overmount in order to start allowing incest.

It is most definitely not the case that we disallow incest just because it’s traditional to do so. While it is true that it is not traditional to allow it, it is also true that is not allowed because: 1) sexual union between close relatives produces dangerous genetic aberration, 2) incest, like statutory rape and certain kinds of workplace sexual harassment, too often by definition involves a perpetrator who holds authority and control over a victim who doesn’t have sufficient freedom or maturity to make a decision otherwise, and thus violates the requirement of consent (admittedly this is a limited argument, but a forceful one in the cases where it applies, i.e. child-parent incest) 3) there is an observed biological imperative against incest which suggests that we are backed up by natural law in censuring it. None of these arguments apply to gay marriage.”

Incidentally, your attitude towards gays convinces me more than ever that “sexual orientation” needs to be included in our Human Rights Act for obvious reasons.

Judge Dredd makes the statement that “Gay marriage” is not legal, but I have made absolutely no mention of “Gay Marriage” I simply pointed out that sex between consenting gay adults is not illegal in Bermuda, nor is the new Government proposing to legalize Gay marriage. It is simply proposing to add “sexual orientation” to our Human Rights Act so that ‘bigots’ will no longer be able to discriminate against persons because of their “sexual orientation” in those areas covered by the Act.

Judge Dredd is now demanding that incest must be taken of the books IMMEDIATELY. Sorry but I don’t even begin to follow his logic. Perhaps I’ve missed something, but is anyone other than Judge Dredd suggesting a that we amend the Criminal Code to legalize incest?!!!

I am on a learning curve here since I had not before now realised that there was a movement advocating rights for ‘incest couples.’ If there is one, it certainly does not seem to be widely reported in the mainstream print and electronic media, (which does not of course invalidate it). So with my extreme naivete in these matters I hope that the following does not offend: I would like to know at least
two things, 1/ what constitutes an ‘incest couple’ and 2/ what sorts of discrimination are these couples facing?
Purely working from first principles I assume that an incest couple could consist of two people of the same or different genders who were born of incest from a) different or b) the same parents, are c) siblings or are d) parent and sibling. Taking a) there is no reason I can think of why such a couple should not be married and I am sure it would be legal. I the case of b), c) and d) there are two possible objections which leap to mind. Moral questions aside, for
all three there exists a strong taboo in most cultures today that these couplings should not be sanctioned by marriage and in many places they are illegal. But so far as the taboo is concerned, what is it based on and is it credible? Well the second objection is that there are very good genetic arguments against such couplings where they intend to produce their own biological children, for there is no more efficient method of exposing genetically based diseases born of inbreeding. With today’s advances in genetic
screening however, it is not beyond the realm of possibility that such couples could be genetically screened to determine the probabilities for genetic problems in offspring. If for these purposes we are able to get our heads around ignoring the taboo and to put aside any moral considerations, then we are likely to be left with weighing up costs and benefits based on genetic probabilities.
Such considerations would be difficult enough for the potential parents themselves and the medical clinicians advising them. I submit that it would become quite a dogs dinner for politicians to consider and I would not be surprised to see them running away from it altogether.
It will I am sure have been noted that I have not included religious considerations as these would require a book which I do not feel qualified to write. Although there are so many religions in the world and often many conflicting denominations within any given religion, I suspect that, in view of the widespread taboo against incestuous couplings, religions would be able to find some common ground.
By simply being a human being I feel more qualified to comment on moral questions. There are of course historical examples of a variety of incestuous relationships: in ancient Egypt where it was legal and by Roman Emperors with their siblings where it was not legal. I believe there is a form of incest among the Balinese though I have no idea how widely or if it is practiced at all today.
My own conviction is that it should depend on the relationship between the couple as to whether it should be sanctioned by marriage. Particularly in biological parent child incest, where there has been a parent child relationship, the state should not sanction marriage. This has been quite controversial where the parent and adoptive child have sought legal sanction for marriage – I am against this where there has been a parent child relationship. One could go on and on, and I have not yet researched this subject, but to answer the challenge: do I stand up for incest couples? Yes to type a) above, couples born of incest but from different parents. My guess is that the real question is about sibling incest – as I have said above, this would have to be weighed, pros and cons, based largely, for practical purposes on genetic probabilities derived from screening and with the advice of medical clinicians to avoid sometimes horrible congenital problems.

If you really want an answer to your question on whether or not “two words and a comma” includes incest couples, I suggest you contact a lawyer, who can break it down for you. I’m not a lawyer. However, I do own a dictionary. Sexual orientation is defined as, “A person’s sexual identity in relation to the gender to which they are attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual.” SEXUAL ORIENTATION SIMPLY MEANS, WHICH SEX YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO.

I don’t think ANYONE should be discriminated against in terms of housing, employment, and goods and services. ANYONE includes incest couples (though I’m still not convinced that this is a real thing in Bermuda), pedophiles, etc. The Human Rights Act even protects those with a criminal record (except where there are valid reasons relevant to the nature of the particular offence for which he is convicted that would justify the difference in treatment)… that would include convicted rapists, murderers, and pedophiles even … no??? Of course, the act would NOT allow a convicted pedophile to work at a daycare, for instance. Now kindly STFU.

And to those that say God made Adam and Eve…. then we are actually ALL screwing our brothers and sisters.

Now, I am curious, Judge Dredd. Do you have any data, statistics, or other facts relating to the prevalence and/or existence of incestuous relationships in Bermuda? I’d really like to know the numbers. Or, do you know anyone personally who engages in incest? Just wondering, because I can’t remember ever hearing about it.

Also, you keep referencing sodomy (anal sex presumably). Did you know that some gay male couples do not actually have anal sex? It’s all a matter of personal preference. I know of some gay men who only enjoy manual or oral sex. Just like not all straight couples have anal sex, so too do not all gay male couples have anal sex. Also, should I assume you don’t really care about lesbian sex, because it usually doesn’t involve butt holes?

You keep comparing incest to homosexuality and obviously have no conceptioon of the essential differences. As I wrote in an earlier post, incest is a criminal offence under our laws – plain and simple, no doubt because society realized many years ago that inter-breeding of close family members was causing birth defects. Please note that no-one, not a single person is advocating for that law to be changed.

It’s also a criminal offence in Bermuda to have sex with young children because they need to be protected until they are of an age to make their own choices. Pedophiles often victimize children of the opposite sex and their vile acts have nothing to do with homosexuality. No-one is campaigning to change the law regarding under-age sex or to allow pedophilia. No-one.

It is NOT, I repeat NOT a criminal offence in Bermuda for consenting gay adults to have sex together, and there is very little chance of them conceiving babies with birth defects! Nor is it a crime or offence in Bermuda to commit adultery despite the fact that my bible is absolutely clear about it being an “abomination”; it is specifically included in the Ten Commandments, and the punishment to be meted out to adulterers is also quite clear – death!

I often hear people quoting the bible in support of not granting equal human rights to gays but I NEVER hear these same persons condemning the morality of adulterers.

Incest is a criminal offence under our laws – plain and simple, no doubt because society realized many years ago that inter-breeding of close family members was causing birth defects.

It’s also a criminal offence in Bermuda to have sex with young children because they need to be protected from sexual predators until they are of an age to make their own choices.

It is NOT, I repeat NOT a criminal offence in Bermuda for consenting gay adults to have sex together, and there is very little chance of them conceiving babies with birth defects! Nor is it a crime or offence in Bermuda to commit adultery despite the fact that my bible is absolutely specific about it being an “abomination”, it is included in the Ten Commandments, and the punishment to be meted out to adulterers is also quite clear – death!

I often hear people quoting the bible in support of not granting equal human rights to gays but I NEVER hear these same persons demanding that adulterers should be treated exactly like gays.