For many years, humans and canines have had a special bond. Whether we delight in a friend to walk with or a warm ball of fur to cuddle on the couch with, dogs can bring us comfort, laughter, and joy when no one else can. On March 11, 2014, Britain’s ITV’s This Morning featured an interview titled, “woman marries dog.” This was met with laughter and disbelief, but according to Amanda Rogers, the connection between herself and her furry friend is much deeper than anyone could imagine.
A Deep Connection
Amanda Rogers married her dog, Sheba, in Croatia. 200 people attended the service, even though Rogers understands the marriage holds no legal weight. However, she does believe that she and her pooch were “meant to be,” and when Sheba was just two weeks old Rogers fell in love with her at first sight. At 46 years old, and already once divorced, Rogers feels that her connection with Sheba is different than any connection she could ever have with a man. Rogers even claims that Sheba decides what men enter her own bedroom. In fact, Rogers even made a man sleep in the dog bed for a whole week before he was allowed to enter her room!
While the headline “woman marries dog,” has been met with skepticism and jokes, Rogers has defended her decision. In an interview with the Metro she stated that, “Sheba had been in my life for years, making me laugh and comforting me when I was feeling low. I couldn’t think of anything more I’d need from a life partner.” Rogers even claims that Sheba wagged her tail in a response of yes when she got down on one knee and proposed to her.
Not the First in History
While this wedding may seem very weird to some people, stories of marriages between humans and animals play important roles in the legends of many different cultures. A Cheyenne myth titled ‘The Girl Who Married a Dog” explains how a group of seven bright stars known as the Pleiades was born when a Cheyenne chief’s daughter gave birth to seven puppies after she was visited by a dog in human form.
The Chinese people tell a folktale known by some as “The Silkworm.” This story claims that a King’s daughter married a horse to uphold a promise. In the story, the daughter is eventually reborn as a silk worm and was said to imitate the features and actions of a horse.
While the topic, woman marries dog, is not a typical one for morning talk shows, Amanda Rogers has shed new light onto the bond between humans and our canine companions.
Married life is an adventure. Some couples take that quite literally when choosing a place to tie the knot. From outer space to an ice hotel, shark tank to Dracula’s castle, here are some of the more bizarre places to get married.
1. Outer Space
Do you want a wedding that is out of this world? If you buy tickets on a Virgin Galactic flight you can say your “I do’s” I space. The company owned by billionaire Richard Branson plans to start taking commercial space flights this year. Tickets are $250,000 per person and the Virgin Galactic has already sold 680 seats. Flights will take off from New Mexico and fly to the uppermost part of the atmosphere where passengers will experience weightlessness.
2. Ice Hotel Swedish Lapland
For a bride and groom who truly want a white wedding, look no further than the Ice Hotel located in northernmost Sweden. This unique hotel is one of the more unusual places to get married. It rebuilt every year in November and December from snow and ice harvested from the nearby River Torne. The hotel’s chapel features an ice altar and pillars, and reindeer blankets designed to keep the chattering of teeth by wedding guests to a minimum.
3. Shark Tank
If your idea of a fun wedding involves being surrounded by predators, getting married in a shark tank can be a great choice. Saying your vows in close proximity to fish that can kill you may provide a renewed appreciation for every day, ordinary married life.
4. Scott Island, Antarctica
Having your wedding on Scott Island, Antarctica is one way to keep the guest list to minimum. This uninhabited island off the coast of Antarctica is one of the remotest places on earth, and only accessible by helicopter. In 2009, Molly Kendal and Andrew Perry were the first couple ever married on Scott Island.
5. Dracula’s Castle, Transylvania
Tying the knot at Dracula’s Castle in Transylvania, Romania can be the perfect weird alternative for a couple who wants to start married life off with a fright. The castle is connected to Vlad the Impaler; the 15th century Romanian warlord who was the inspiration for the Dracula stories.
6. The Great Wall of China
While some may consider the Great Wall of China a strange place for a wedding ceremony, the venue has been the setting for many love stories over the centuries. The Wall is over 13,000 thousand miles long wall and is visible from space.
A wedding is unique expression of the tastes and personalities of a bride and groom. For some couples, tying the knot in one of the more unusual places to get married is the perfect fit.
This February, the State of Arizona received considerable attention throughout North America. Attention was focused on a bill that would have allowed business owners to refuse service to customers on religious grounds. The bill was specifically intended to protect business owners from lawsuits resulting from a decision to deny service to lesbian or gay customers on grounds of strongly held religious belief. However, critics of the bill pointed out that it could have numerous unintended consequences. Republican Governor of Arizona Jan Brewer ultimately chose to veto bill, though not before many voices weighed in. In contrast to a number of other recent legislative actions that took place in the United States, this bill had nothing to do with gay marriage.
Is Discrimination a Religious Right?
Proponents of this controversial bill said that personal religious freedoms were being protected by allowing people to express their religious beliefs without fear of lawsuit. Though a few business owners have been named in lawsuits alleging discrimination, these lawsuits took place in locations where discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation was already illegal. Additionally, the services refused were specifically related to gay marriage ceremonies; bakers, florists, and other service providers who denied customers planning a gay marriage did so on the grounds that their religious convictions held that homosexuality was wrong.
The Arizona bill would have given business owners blanket permission to refuse services to customers, giving rise to questions about how the owners would ascertain whether or not a customer was actually gay. Even prominent Republic politicians argued that this bill would make it too easy to discriminate against people while using religion as a mask; Governor Rick Scott of Florida and former Presidential candidate Mitt Romney expressed hesitation over the bill on precisely these grounds. Gov. Brewer chose to veto bill, saying that it “does not address a specific or current concern related to religious liberty in Arizona.”
Other Impacts of the Proposed Bill
The financial impacts this proposed legislation were felt even before Gov. Brewer opted to veto bill.
The National Football League (NFL) began looking for alternative locations to hold next year’s Super Bowl, even though a location in Arizona had already been selected.
The Hispanic National Bar Association canceled its annual convention, already slated to take place in Arizona.
Businesses across the state worried that their income and reputations would be harmed if the Governor did not veto bill.
Major corporations, including Apple and American Airlines, threatened to withdraw their business from the state.
Though gay marriage is perhaps the civil rights concern most widely recognized as being important to gay and lesbian members of our human family, there are numerous other challenges that are even more pressing. Access to the public marketplace without fear of discrimination is important to everyone.
For many years, humans and canines have had a special bond. Whether we delight in a friend to walk with or a warm ball of fur to cuddle on the couch with, dogs can bring us comfort, laughter, and joy when no one else can. On March 11, 2014, Britain’s ITV’s This Morning featured an interview titled, “woman marries dog.” This was met with laughter and disbelief, but according to Amanda Rogers, the connection between herself and her furry friend is much deeper than anyone could imagine.
A Deep Connection
Amanda Rogers married her dog, Sheba, in Croatia. 200 people attended the service, even though Rogers understands the marriage holds no legal weight. However, she does believe that she and her pooch were “meant to be,” and when Sheba was just two weeks old Rogers fell in love with her at first sight. At 46 years old, and already once divorced, Rogers feels that her connection with Sheba is different than any connection she could ever have with a man. Rogers even claims that Sheba decides what men enter her own bedroom. In fact, Rogers even made a man sleep in the dog bed for a whole week before he was allowed to enter her room!
While the headline “woman marries dog,” has been met with skepticism and jokes, Rogers has defended her decision. In an interview with the Metro she stated that, “Sheba had been in my life for years, making me laugh and comforting me when I was feeling low. I couldn’t think of anything more I’d need from a life partner.” Rogers even claims that Sheba wagged her tail in a response of yes when she got down on one knee and proposed to her.
Not the First in History
While this wedding may seem very weird to some people, stories of marriages between humans and animals play important roles in the legends of many different cultures. A Cheyenne myth titled ‘The Girl Who Married a Dog” explains how a group of seven bright stars known as the Pleiades was born when a Cheyenne chief’s daughter gave birth to seven puppies after she was visited by a dog in human form.
The Chinese people tell a folktale known by some as “The Silkworm.” This story claims that a King’s daughter married a horse to uphold a promise. In the story, the daughter is eventually reborn as a silk worm and was said to imitate the features and actions of a horse.
While the topic, woman marries dog, is not a typical one for morning talk shows, Amanda Rogers has shed new light onto the bond between humans and our canine companions.
Married life is an adventure. Some couples take that quite literally when choosing a place to tie the knot. From outer space to an ice hotel, shark tank to Dracula’s castle, here are some of the more bizarre places to get married.
1. Outer Space
Do you want a wedding that is out of this world? If you buy tickets on a Virgin Galactic flight you can say your “I do’s” I space. The company owned by billionaire Richard Branson plans to start taking commercial space flights this year. Tickets are $250,000 per person and the Virgin Galactic has already sold 680 seats. Flights will take off from New Mexico and fly to the uppermost part of the atmosphere where passengers will experience weightlessness.
2. Ice Hotel Swedish Lapland
For a bride and groom who truly want a white wedding, look no further than the Ice Hotel located in northernmost Sweden. This unique hotel is one of the more unusual places to get married. It rebuilt every year in November and December from snow and ice harvested from the nearby River Torne. The hotel’s chapel features an ice altar and pillars, and reindeer blankets designed to keep the chattering of teeth by wedding guests to a minimum.
3. Shark Tank
If your idea of a fun wedding involves being surrounded by predators, getting married in a shark tank can be a great choice. Saying your vows in close proximity to fish that can kill you may provide a renewed appreciation for every day, ordinary married life.
4. Scott Island, Antarctica
Having your wedding on Scott Island, Antarctica is one way to keep the guest list to minimum. This uninhabited island off the coast of Antarctica is one of the remotest places on earth, and only accessible by helicopter. In 2009, Molly Kendal and Andrew Perry were the first couple ever married on Scott Island.
5. Dracula’s Castle, Transylvania
Tying the knot at Dracula’s Castle in Transylvania, Romania can be the perfect weird alternative for a couple who wants to start married life off with a fright. The castle is connected to Vlad the Impaler; the 15th century Romanian warlord who was the inspiration for the Dracula stories.
6. The Great Wall of China
While some may consider the Great Wall of China a strange place for a wedding ceremony, the venue has been the setting for many love stories over the centuries. The Wall is over 13,000 thousand miles long wall and is visible from space.
A wedding is unique expression of the tastes and personalities of a bride and groom. For some couples, tying the knot in one of the more unusual places to get married is the perfect fit.
This February, the State of Arizona received considerable attention throughout North America. Attention was focused on a bill that would have allowed business owners to refuse service to customers on religious grounds. The bill was specifically intended to protect business owners from lawsuits resulting from a decision to deny service to lesbian or gay customers on grounds of strongly held religious belief. However, critics of the bill pointed out that it could have numerous unintended consequences. Republican Governor of Arizona Jan Brewer ultimately chose to veto bill, though not before many voices weighed in. In contrast to a number of other recent legislative actions that took place in the United States, this bill had nothing to do with gay marriage.
Is Discrimination a Religious Right?
Proponents of this controversial bill said that personal religious freedoms were being protected by allowing people to express their religious beliefs without fear of lawsuit. Though a few business owners have been named in lawsuits alleging discrimination, these lawsuits took place in locations where discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation was already illegal. Additionally, the services refused were specifically related to gay marriage ceremonies; bakers, florists, and other service providers who denied customers planning a gay marriage did so on the grounds that their religious convictions held that homosexuality was wrong.
The Arizona bill would have given business owners blanket permission to refuse services to customers, giving rise to questions about how the owners would ascertain whether or not a customer was actually gay. Even prominent Republic politicians argued that this bill would make it too easy to discriminate against people while using religion as a mask; Governor Rick Scott of Florida and former Presidential candidate Mitt Romney expressed hesitation over the bill on precisely these grounds. Gov. Brewer chose to veto bill, saying that it “does not address a specific or current concern related to religious liberty in Arizona.”
Other Impacts of the Proposed Bill
The financial impacts this proposed legislation were felt even before Gov. Brewer opted to veto bill.
The National Football League (NFL) began looking for alternative locations to hold next year’s Super Bowl, even though a location in Arizona had already been selected.
The Hispanic National Bar Association canceled its annual convention, already slated to take place in Arizona.
Businesses across the state worried that their income and reputations would be harmed if the Governor did not veto bill.
Major corporations, including Apple and American Airlines, threatened to withdraw their business from the state.
Though gay marriage is perhaps the civil rights concern most widely recognized as being important to gay and lesbian members of our human family, there are numerous other challenges that are even more pressing. Access to the public marketplace without fear of discrimination is important to everyone.
