While the uS is caught up over whether two folks living together shoul be recognized as “married,” Our great ally. United Kingdom, is now officially subsidizing polygamy for Muslims on welfare, despite the fact that bigamy is a crime in Britain.
Someone should ask Mitt Romney if he would support the right to multiple marriage in the US!
From James Slack writing in the Daily Mail:
Husbands living in a “harem” with multiple wives have been cleared to claim state benefits for all their different partners.
A Muslim man with four spouses – which is permitted under Islamic law – could receive £10,000 a year in income support alone.
He could also be entitled to more generous housing and council tax benefit, to reflect the fact his household needs a bigger property.
Ministers have decided that, even though bigamy is a crime in Britain, polygamous marriages can be recognised formally by the state – provided they took place overseas, in countries where they are legal.
The outcome will chiefly benefit Muslim men with more than one wife.
Ministers estimate that up to a thousand polygamous partnerships exist in Britain, although they admit there is no exact record.
Potentially, the benefits bill for income support could reach £10m.