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Bill: Respect for Culture Bill
Details
Submitted by[?]: Jakanian Liberal Socialists
Status[?]: passed
Votes: This is an ordinary bill. It requires more yes votes than no votes. This bill will not pass any sooner than the deadline.
Voting deadline: June 2143
Description[?]:
| Recognising the inherent strengths and weaknesses of differing cultures, respecting our international neighbours and our own immigrant citizens, as well as the right of people to live as they desire, this bill proposes that any people married or otherwise legally joined in another country will have their marriage legally recognised on Jakanian soil. |
Proposals
Article 1
Proposal[?] to change
The government's policy regarding foreign marriages.
Old value:: Only foreign marriages that comply with domestic policy regarding marriage are recognised.
Current: Only foreign marriages that comply with domestic policy regarding marriage are recognised.
Proposed: All foreign marriages are recognised, regardless of domestic policy regarding marriage.
Debate
These messages have been posted to debate on this bill:
| Date | 20:26:15, November 18, 2005 CET | From | Jakanian Liberal Socialists | To | Debating the Respect for Culture Bill |
| Message | Our only concern with this bill is with regards to foreign arranged marriages, or marriage carried out without personal consent in other countries. But as far as we know, divorce is legal in Jakania (actually, do we even have proposals for that? I've never looked), and so that concern is minimised; if anyone wished to come to Jakania seeking their marriage to lose recognition, with the above proposal they could just get a divorce under current legislation. |
| Date | 21:21:17, November 18, 2005 CET | From | Conservative Militarist Party | To | Debating the Respect for Culture Bill |
| Message | We oppose this bill. |
| Date | 22:41:49, November 18, 2005 CET | From |  Islamic Nationalist Front | To | Debating the Respect for Culture Bill |
| Message | Our government should not have to respect the cultures of any immigrants coming to Jakania. Our government's concern is only to protect our citizens' (and arguably residents') rights -- that is, to protect them from coercion and fraud. As such, the NLP does not support any kind of "cultural relativism" in law. (OOC: For example, there was a Chinese immigrant in New York years back that beat his wife to death for cheating on him. The judge in the case gave him a lower sentence because that would have been acceptable in China. That's bullshit.) Cultural relativism violates the rule of law -- it contradicts the fundamental idea that everyone is equal under and subject to the same laws. We cannot under any circumstance protect any violation of rights and then justify it by claiming that we do so in the name of tolerance of other cultures. That said, the NLP advocates minimal state involvement in the institution of marriage -- what is agreed upon by two consenting adults is their business. Thus, we feel that so long as both partners consent to the marriage once they are inside the country, the marriage (i.e. contract) should be considered valid. However, if the wife, for example, does not consent to it, she has that right, her husband cannot force her to do otherwise and she should be protected from coercion like all other citizens should he try. Thus, we agree with the legislation, just not the motivation behind it (: |
| Date | 00:46:10, November 19, 2005 CET | From | Jakanian Liberal Socialists | To | Debating the Respect for Culture Bill |
| Message | The JLSP, for the record, agrees totally with the NLP on this issue. |
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Voting
| Vote | Seats | |||
| yes | Total Seats: 142 | |||
| no | Total Seats: 108 | |||
| abstain | Total Seats: 0 |
| Random fact: It usually takes up to an hour for election results to generate. During this time, the "Next Election" date is put forward a month, which is confusing. Do not worry! In a short time, the election result will generate and the "Next Election" date will then correct itself. |
| Random quote: "No man can outrun a bullet." - Idi Amin |