Interesting approach, as always Rodney. I've always thought that the most simple retort to the crazed claims that same-sex marriage will lead to polygamy is that marriage permits an individual to reciprocally nominate one other person who will speak for them when they can't, and who will be their main beneficiary if the worst happens to them.

As such, the gender of that person should be utterly irrelevant - they just need to be a consenting adult who accepts the rights and responsibilities involved.

Adding multiple spouses to that mix obviously exponentially complicates that simple equation. If polygamists want relationship recognition, they better spell out how the relatively simple rules of marriage can be adapted for them (which is not needed - at all - in same-sex marriage). They also need to vastly increase their PR efforts. Keysar Trad isn't going to get that job done any time soon.

And as for the homophobes out there who will shout that hetero marriage is for child rearing - just can it. They don't take the licence off you if you don't breed, and they don't take the kid off you if you don't marry.

Afganistan, Iran, Iraq. All Muslim nations housing men with many wives. These are countries which do not portray a pretty picture.

I see no lobbying group from the Mormon community in this nation. They too must have come to their senses and realised that this sort of patronising polygamy "protection" is what women don't need and all for the benefit of men who want more sexual partners!

What other concessions to Muslims can we expect to make?

If polygamy was ever legally recognised then polyandry would need to be legally recognised too. You cannot just allow a man to have multiple wives - a girl would need to be allowed to have multiple husbands too.

But then it would be a brave Muslim woman who recommends polyandry. Who would want to be stoned and beaten by the polygamists?

Keysar Trad already has nine children to one wife. With some 6.5 billion people on this fragile planet we must therefore ask what motivates his “procreate or perish” mindset. Domination?

The Daily Telegraph reported that when Mrs Trad was asked if it was just about wanting sex with more women, she said: "Yeah it can be, but having it in the right way instead of having it in like go to prostitute or just date".

“This isn’t a coincidence. Same-sex marriage and polygamy are not just different, they are utterly incompatible.”

Touché Rodney – I’ll drink to that!

Kerry Shine

You've failed to allude to the heterosexuals - the happily married gentlemen - heaps of them, who like to covertly hang around public toilets to do a bit of "poo pushing" themselves.

Now Kerry what about the other group of heterosexuals - mostly happily married too who like to sodomise little boys and girls - hmmm?

So if the deceitful bi-sexuals and the heinous paedophiles are permitted to legally marry, pray tell why you object to homosexuals having the same rights?

You advise: "If the Bible has any relevance then God finds it (sodomy and lesbianism) an abomination."

Well some of us find the Bible an abomination too and no Kerry I don't believe it has much relevance these days at least not with those who engage in critical thinking.

Cheers

Forget it, Dickie. This is a troll, and a particularly poisonous one at that.

"Kerry Shine" won't be around here for much longer.

As Rodney says, "Same-sex marriage only begins to make sense in a society where there is social and economic equity between men and women and legal equality between marriage partners."

This is the main point which distinguishes same-sex marriage and marriage as it currently stands in Australia from polygamy (and adult-child marriage for that matter). The first two forms of marriage are based on equality. The second two are inherently unequal.

Not only that, the second two have had a long history but are now illegal in democratic countries. To say that same-sex marriage will somehow lead to polygamy etc gets history back-to-front. We've already had the latter two forms of marriage and they do nothing to enhance the equality and dignity of women and children. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Rodney is the only person that I know of that has tried to link same sex marriages with polygamy.

I think he is trying to further the gay cause by engaging in a bit of muslim bashing. Everyone knows that muslims are opposed to homosexuality but most accept polygamy.

In recent threads on polygamy, those opposing it could not put forward any practical argument. The same situation may exist for same sex marriage and if so there is no need to introduce additional non related factors.

Most probably same sex marriages have more chance of becoming law than polygamy.