Britain Legalizes Bigamy

(London) If this report doesn't make you think you've just stepped into a pile of dog leavings, probably nothing will.

Disregarding the fact that bigamy is punishable by seven years in prison, the British Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has ruled that multiple wives will be rewarded with extra benefits.

Although bigamy is a crime in the UK, if polygamous marriages -- usually by Muslims -- take place in countries where such arrangements are legal, they are allowed here.

And now men in such relationships can claim an extra £33.65 in income support for each additional wife -- on top of the weekly £92.80 payment made to traditional couples.

There is also the reward of being eligible for additional housing benefit and council tax benefit to reflect the larger property needed for his family.

Although nobody knows how many polygamous marriages exist in Britain, somebody guessed there may be as many as a thousand. Uh -- guess again, Karnak. I'd wager that the DWP just opened Pandora's Box.

And, while a married man cannot obtain a spouse visa to bring a second wife into Britain, some multiple partners may be able to enter the country via other legal routes such as tourist visas, student visas or work permits.

Opponents of the ruling claim the benefits system is now unacceptably treating people in different ways. It's also believed that the decision will put additional pressure on British lawmakers to bend over for every cultural norm that rides immigrants to the country.

I think it's de facto legalization of bigamous marriages and I wonder if the British brain trusts thought about the fact that some cultures allow hundreds or more wives per husband, not just four as is with the Muslims.

By the way, polygamy reward program comes on the heels of the scandalous report that two-thirds of all Brits getting disability benefits are scamming the system. Just ducky.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.