Posted By: A.D. On: 8/26/2009

Title: Marriage is under attack!

Again, if this law is passed then marriage becomes a common law relationship all over again.Where then is the quality and meaning of the relationship now? Sex is a gift or a bond from God for two married couples, man and woman.If sex is hampered with then the whole institution is under a possible collapse.Now premarital sex is and has always been under attack by the enemy and we are seeing the hideous consequences every day. So can you just imagine if that cancerous tumor moves within the fortress of marriage, the very institution that results in true societal happiness and bliss between God and fellow man? I feel for the abused married women, but i believe politicians need to exhaust all possibilities toward this matter before making this a law.People wake up-marriage is under attack!

Posted By: A.D. On: 8/25/2009

Title: Marriage is under attack!

If this law passes in the house, then in my view this proves the bible to be wrong where it states "the two flesh being as one."That simply means a woman's body is her body because the law of the land says so, a man must stay put or scheme and God's law is out of the window.There certainly is no submission in there. It creates a wall of separation between the two individuals and the husband who is the head of the home is no more powerful than the family dog. Before you blast me for what i just wrote, if you would notice most marital rapes are done when Christ is not the head of the home or in other words the couple ain't saved. I wish the politician would see it that way. I wish all people would be saved, at least, before marrying.If they were, this topic would hardly raise its hideous head.That's where most of this upheaval comes from.That is why i don't believe in marriage for unsaved couples because God is and suppose to be the most centered Being in this institution.That is also why i believe this should be given more thought because it can create nasty symptoms for even the best of marriages.Women can reject their husbands.Husbands can then scheme.Women in revenge & jealousy can in return file for a divorce and get alimony.Children are seriously affected and unwed s are dangerously skeptic.There is word around about the fact that women in authority have a female agenda in hopes that this law will be passed.I cant say for sure but I do know root of the cause is gruesome.I know women are being affected nevertheless but the politicians may be doing people a disservice.That is why i said marriage is under attack by the enemy.I believe if each individual would do as he/she ought according to the Word of God, then none of this would arise.

Posted By: A.D. On: 8/25/2009

Title: Marriage is under attack!

You know, its really funny because in Mexico there is a law that was recently passed between this year and last year stating that a man can be imprisoned if his wife demands sex and he refuses.In the Bahamas its the other way around.In Afghanistan by law (and much of the Muslim world), men are allowed to have intercourse with their wives whether she is up for it or not.Again, in the Bahamas its the other way around.In other words, we are newly comers to this matter and much though should be given. I know married women are under attack in this country and its wrong and I feel for them.However, passing this rape law can bring positive and negative consequences including symptoms for even the most of stablest marriages.We must remember marriage is a God ordained institution between two flesh, man and woman.The biblical instructions on marriage in God's word are being despised and we are reaping the rotten fruits from this matter. Husbands are out of order for forcing them selves on their wives as she is the "weaker vessel" (Eph. 5:22-30, 1Peter 3:7). Wives ought to be submissive to their husbands (Eph.5:22-24).But tell me, how in the world did we go wrong from the plain Scriptures? Marriage is under attack by the enemy, plain and simple.With out this institution, societies would collapse just as Historian Gibbons said when Roman fell.In fact marriage was one of five major point discussed by Gibbons in relation to Rome's destruction.This would be Satan's greatest desire as marriage proves to be the most pin pointed reason for societal happiness and bliss.Young unweds like my self are watching and it makes me wonder if I should get wedded. Never the less a marriage between two saved individuals (as I am saved) is the most stable believe it or not. Is submission, respect, fidelity, trust, honor and most of all love be amongst us? We can talk about the superficial details on this topic all day on this blog and around the country, but the underlying reasons will continue to hold firm.That is until something is done on a spiritual plane. Each spouse has a biblical responsibility and if executed properly this topic would not be pending in the house of assembly. Marriage should never have insecurities and rape in marriage proves to be the greatest.We claim to be a Christian nation, using God's name as a seal yet we are reaping the whirl wind of societal problems.Some thing is wrong.I am quite on wheather the law should be passed or not, but am open on the underlying reasons (bibically speaking) toward such a debate.

Posted By: nomad On: 8/20/2009

Title: one big flaw

the major problem with all of this Bible-thumping is this: the Bahamas is a democratic country and the right to religious difference is enshrined in the constitution, the framers of which never anticipated or envisioned the Bahamas as a theocracy, but rather as a democracy. If we were to make all of our laws from the bible, we would be no better than the Taliban. So take this example: I, a woman, a voting citizan and a sentient being, do not accept the Biblical references and I refuse to give my body to a marriage. Only my love. The law of the land must accomodate my freedom to make this choice, rather than appease a biblical passage from 2000 years ago! I pay tax in the Bahamas not Adam and Eve!

Posted By: Young and passionate On: 8/20/2009

Title: Not passing Marital Rape Law may turn young unwed women away from marriage

Over the past few weeks or so I have become deeply saddened by the sentiments of a large group of men in this country. The Tribune headline a few days ago read something to the effect that passing this marital rape law will create a 'NATION OF RAPISTS'. Hello Bahamas, we already are there already. We are number 1 is this region. Has anyone been paying attention to the news papers, and various other news outlets? A few days ago both the Tribune and the Guardian were both littered with stories about rape. Serial rapists are on the loose, rapists in law enforcement, rapists in our schools and now it seems, rapists in our homes. I have listened very intently to all of the arguments against this bill and it has become very clear to me that many people are misconstruing the issue and for very selfish reasons. I'll be quite frank, men who do not force themselves on their wives generally will not have a problem with this law. The only people who will strongly oppose are men who are guilty of this themselves and women who have had it done to them but lack either the courage or the autonomy to condemn the act, and of course we cannot forget the political opponents of the present Government who perceive that there may be some political mileage to be won from this debate. I'll be the first to admit that being old fashioned does have its benefits but the fact remains thought that we have a lot of archaic thinkers in this country, particularly women who have been 'brainwashed' into thinking that any injustices brought against them and their children in many instances during the course of their marriage should be burried with them in the grave and never brought to light. Wake up my people! Is this the fate that older Bahamians wish to hand down to their sons and daughters? Bare in mind that this is the same mentality that has seen incest and rape of innocent children proliferated throughout the years. The numbers of reported cases are just now beginning to tell the gruesome story. I make reference to other instances of violence against children and women (who are the most affected in both groups) because it is all indicative of a very misogynistic rationale that inflicts a great many males in the Bahamas. Bullying, intimidation and outright sexism are the norm in many quarters and many injustices have been suffered by those who are most vulnerable, our women and children. The veil of silence is slowly but surely being lifted and the guilty are AFRAID!!!! And they should be for good reason because what is done in the dark will eventually come to the light. 1) Those who oppose the law because they claim that it will open the door for civil unions being on par with marriages in this country are delusional. As a young unwed Bahamian woman I'm sure I speak for the majority of my peers (18-25) when I say that marriage in the Bahamas would just about cease altogether if this 'human right' is denied us. Older and married Bahamians can argue all they like but the fact is that the institution of marriage would 'DIE' without us. WE ARE THE FUTURE, we are the chosen generation. 2) Opponents of the bill who say that this will encourage Bahamian men to sweatheart are reaching. Any woman with half a brain knows that they can work, cook, clean, juggle her babies on her hips and put out for her husband every night and many times, the husband would still cheat. Men cheat, it is what most, certainly not all but most do and no one knows a husband like his wife so if this woman knows that her husband is promiscuous and not particularly fond of using protection, when we simply take into account the rate of AIDS and HIV infection in this country, that should be grounds alone for a woman to be able to say HELL NO! Come how selfish could a man be to believe he should be able to have sex with whomever, however he chooses and his wife should never tell him no. Sounds like a sociopath to me. 3) Those who oppose this law because they claim it will lead to many 'FALSE' accusations. First of all, who are you to determine if the accusation is false or accurate? If you believe that a spouse cannot rape their spouse then of course you would call such an accusation false. Definitions of rape are in every dictionary known to man... become acquainted with one. If we used this argument then the act that is rape would have never been recognized for any group of woman. Maybe we should pass a law worldwide to ban the production/use of contraceptives because children 'might' use them. Maybe we should make it illegal for people to go onto the internet because they may misrepresent themselves. My point is there are many things we could 'NOT' do to prevent people taking advantage but we cannot afford to deny people basic rights like the right to their own bodies. 4) I cannot forget those who argue that this is against biblical law. To them I say A woman's body is not like a man's. She will not always be ready when her mate is from a biological stand point. Forcing sex on a woman when her body is not ready can cause mental and physical trauma, bruising and tearing to her genitals, regardless of whether the man inflicting the trauma is a lover or stranger. Men need to know that just because you are her husband does not mean she will not feel violated, used and objectified. She may become withdrawn and detached from you even when you are both 'willing' or not even in the act at all. If you would willingly to subject your wife to such feelings with no consideration then you too are disobeying God's law by not loving your wife as Christ loves the church or even as your own body because every man knows when his body is spent and needs food/water/rest, likewise women have the same knowledge of their own bodies. I hope for the sake of future generations that the Government passes this bill. These are serious times that we live in and whether we choose to be honest with ourselves or not there are some very disturbed sociopathic and inhumane people living among us. Normal people should not be splitting hairs over this issue, we should be protecting those who are subject to the savages that are out there.

Posted By: Volaire On: 8/15/2009

Title: Give me a break

First of all, the idea that the marital bed is sacred and therefore exempt from the rule of law is nonsense. You might as well say its wrong to prosecute a man for beating someone to death in church, because that is God's house, not man's. If the law doesn't protect every human being - man, woman, or child - from being harassed, coerced, violated or abused no matter where they are, the law is worthless. I must also ask, what is the source of this strange insecurity about sacred stuff"? The government does not want to legislate your bedroom; the government wants to protect the citizens for whom it is responsible from being harmed in any way. That is the point of laws and governments - to protect citizens from having their rights violated. And women, married or not, have rights and deserve protection, even from their husbands if necessary. It is not the government's job - unless you are in a fundamentalist or totalitarian society - to mold or guide society. That is why this suggestion that premarital sex should be outlawed is nonsense. Regardless of what you do or don't think premarital sex does to society, if it is consensual it is none of your business, or the government's for that matter. This business of the proposed law being used as a weapon is also foolishness. Everyone who goes before the courts is innocent until proven guilty. In other words, if your wife accuses you, she must PROVE beyond doubt that you raped her. If she cannot, the case must be thrown out. On the other hand, if a woman invents such a claim she can and probably will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Just look at that poor woman who pretended a man kidnapped her child, in an effort to get him locked up so he would stop beating her. They threw the book at her. Finally, you say that other countries have laws we don't subscribe to, and maybe that is why they are in such a mess -- are you kidding? Who is in more of a mess than us? We have obscenely high rates of murder, rape, domestic violence, child molestation, human trafficking, political corruption, nepotism. Perhaps our failure to deal with these issues has something to do with the lack of common sense in public debate, and the excessive levels of half-baked preachifying.

Posted By: Dagni Prosa On: 8/13/2009

Title: Marital Rape

We should be supporting efforts to protect women, particularly in a country that has an escalating problem with violence against women (see today's "Shock rise in rape figures"). Unlike E.V.'s assertion that "a real man would never force his wife to have sex", real men do, in fact, perpetrate such crimes against their wives, and worse, hence the need for this legislation. It is sad that individuals are trying to distort the debate into a men vs. women argument (or vice versa) by fear mongering focused on false allegations. Even more disheartening is the view that E.V. and other men have of women in general as vindictive, manipulative and malicious beings. Yes, false allegations need to be addressed no matter the crime. But do we not dispense justice because of the (small) potential for false allegations? Real men need to consider that this is not a power struggle. If we truly care about our wives, mothers, aunts, sisters and daughters, we should want them to have legal recourse if they are raped, regardless of their marital status. And we should implement stiffer penalties for perpetrators that commit such heinous crimes.

Posted By: Honestman On: 8/13/2009

Title: Marital Rape

No challenge from me sir. Well stated argument that will find favour with all level headed persons. There are surely many more pressing problems Government could be addressing instead of wasting time on this nonsense