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Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Wait—Does India Have Gay Marriage?

posted by on November 13 at 12:33 PM

I don’t think they do—so how come men are marrying dogs in India? I thought gay marriage came first, then man-on-dog marriage. Guess they do things differently down there.

Man marries bitch to beat curse

An Indian man has married a female dog, believing the union will help him atone for stoning two other dogs to death.

The “bride” wore a sari and a garland. P Selvakumar, 33, said he had been cursed since the killings, suffering paralysis and a loss of hearing.

The wedding took place at a Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu state. The “bride” wore an orange sari with a flower garland and was fed a bun to celebrate.

Thanks to Slog tipper Reggie.

RSS icon Comments

1

Actually, gay sex is still illegal in India. I'm not sure about man-on-dog action though.

For the country that came up with tantric sex and the kama sutra, India is amazingly puritanical about sex and PDAs. Witness all the trouble Richard Gere got into when he mock-kissed that bollywood actress on stage.

Posted by Providence | November 13, 2007 12:45 PM
2

"Man Marries Bitch" Could be a headline pretty much anywhere.

Posted by MN Gay Dude | November 13, 2007 12:46 PM
3

I have some very bad news for Shri P Selvakumar of Tamil Nadu. This so-called marriage will do nothing to lift his curse unless it is consummated.
It is not this bun you have given her that the little doggy needs. It is your sausage.
Namaste.

Posted by Pdt. N. Sharamayanayanami | November 13, 2007 12:54 PM
4

Thank the Lard it wasn't a male dog!

Posted by Irena | November 13, 2007 1:49 PM
5

Dan, while this kind of story is good for a little informal consciousness-raising, I'd be astonished to learn that this marriage is legally valid in India.

Neither the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, which regulates marriages between Hindus, nor the Special Marriage Act, 1954, which regulates interfaith marriages, provides for marriages between people and animals.

Posted by Stephen Clark | November 13, 2007 2:19 PM
6

They seemed to place extra attention on the fact that he married a female dog, in a sari an ornaments, no less.

Just so, you know, you wouldn't think he was a fag or something.

Posted by Bont | November 13, 2007 3:14 PM
7

This "marriage" between man and dog is not legal under Indian law nor does it have religious sanction in Hinduism. It is just a low-level village stunt. It sounds like the guy felt that by "marrying" the dog he would assuage his guilt for killing dogs. This too is not exactly high level karmic thinking, but if it makes the guy feel better, where is the harm? Moreover, for anyone in the West who takes this seriously, I ask: does the U.S. predict the weather by relying on chipmunks, aka Punksatawny Phil (sp?)??

More seriously, there have been lesbian marriages in India performed by Hindu priests (there is no formal religious prohibition within Hinduism for same-sex relations (and was widely acknowledged and practiced into the 19th c.)) and current prejudices are courtesy of those meddling Brits). Lesbians do not fall within the purview of Art. 377 of the Indian Penal Code (enacted by the Victorian British in the 1890s), which prohibits acts against "the order of nature." Caselaw has stated that such acts require "penetration." And, lesbians technically cannot penetrate anything naturally (tools and aids didn't figure into the legal picture). Men (more specifically the active partner) do come within Art. 377. By the way, this law has been challenged under the Indian Consitution by gay rights and AIDS awareness groups. The Indian Supreme Court is reviewing the law. There is a feeling the Court will "read down" the law to exempt consensual adult sex (and limit its application to prevent pedophelia, etc.). This was the recommendation of the Indian Law Reform Commission.

Posted by VictorVictoria | November 13, 2007 3:18 PM
8

Gee, I thought the argument against gay marriage is that it would LEAD to men marrying their pets! That's what I'd heard. So what does marrying dogs lead to?

Posted by Anna | November 13, 2007 4:50 PM
9

well, it shouldn't be too hard to get a blow job from his wife. all he has to do is rub some peanut butter on his balls.

Posted by dirty girl | November 13, 2007 6:51 PM
10

@8

Dolphins. Oh, wait. Some bitch already did that in California.

Posted by Mr. Poe | November 13, 2007 7:37 PM
11

This guy is more like your tin foil hat man than joe shmoe. So wtf eh.
Also on an unfortunate note there's laws against gay marriage, anal and oral sex, but no one gives a damn or even knows about those ancient laws. If it ever came up in court the hearing would go the way of the Richard Gere 'indecency' trail, forced to drop charges because of public pressure.

Posted by arandomdude | November 14, 2007 12:11 AM
12

I'm just happy it wasn't a male dog, because that would be disgusting.

Posted by Brian | November 14, 2007 7:32 AM

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