Republicans Are Quietly Trying to Kill No-Fault Divorce

[DonViejo]

By Amanda Marcotte

Republicans have decided to start waging war on a ubiquitous and generally noncontroversial part of American life: no-fault divorce. Scott Keyes, writing for the Washington Post, reports on this alarming trend, one that has largely flown under the radar, of Republican-controlled state houses pushing for waiting periods, mandating marriage classes, or even eliminating no-fault divorce entirely. Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Perry have signed a pledge from Family Leader, a Christian-right group, denouncing "quickie divorce" and urging couples to endure a "cooling off period."

The hope is that by making divorce a hassle, or forcing couples to really think about what divorce means, the government can encourage/make more couples give up on the idea and recommit themselves to marriage. This is, of course, not the government's job. But also, by artificially elongating the divorce process, the state simply creates more time for all the petty, embittered bickering that divorce tends to cause, as anyone who's actually ever been through a divorce, or known anyone else who has divorced, or is the child of divorce can tell you. A cooling-off period is just more time for adults to squabble over who gets the lamps and chairs and try to assign blame for the relationship's demise. It's the children who end up suffering, as marriage historian Stephanie Coontz argues, telling Keyes that mothers and fathers are "more likely to parent amicably if they haven’t been locked into a long separation process."

Waiting periods and mandatory classes also provide an abusive partner more control. Needless to say, this means any push back to no-fault divorce will disproportionately hurt women. As Keyes writes:

No-fault divorce has been a success. A 2003 Stanford University study detailed the benefits in states that had legalized such divorces: Domestic violence dropped by a third in just 10 years, the number of husbands convicted of murdering their wives fell by 10 percent, and the number of women committing suicide declined between 11 and 19 percent. A recent report from Maria Shriver and the Center for American Progress found that only 28 percent of divorced women said they wished they’d stayed married.

more
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/04/14/republicans_against_no_fault_divorce_gop_politicians_push_for_waiting_periods.html?

[Johonny]

1. Just another way Republican "small" government stays out of your personal life

Remember it the next time Rick Santorum, Michele Bachmann, and Rick Perry complain about Democrats wanting a nanny state.

[Archae]

2. I guess such stalwarts of marriage will fight tooth and nail for this...

Like Bob Barr. (3 marriages)
Newt Gingrich. (3 marriages)
Rush Limbaugh. (4 marriages.)

And so on...

[Shrike47]

3. If they make it hard enough to divorce, people won't marry.

The marriage rate has already declined dramatically. Do they really want more children born to unmarried parents?

[nomorenomore08]

7. When your whole value system is based on a past "utopia" that never existed

I don't think you're one to think through the consequences too carefully.

[Warren DeMontague]

13. I agree 100%

The "culture in crisis" crowd who thinks they're going to drag society back to some more-pure era, are deluded.

[nomorenomore08]

15. Even going back to the early 60's, the great majority of Americans still had premarital sex.

To put it simply, you can't stop humans from doing what humans do.

[Warren DeMontague]

17. Heh. And before. Yeah, my Mom admitted that to me once, out of the blue.

I'm like "No! Don't need to know!"

[nomorenomore08]

18. My folks (born '55 and '56) weren't exactly the stereotypical Boomers - met at 23 and 22, married

about a year and half later, still together after 34 years. Rather traditional, especially considering they're liberal Dems.

[Warren DeMontague]

19. Mine were very much the "Mad Men", Korea generation.

Lotta booze, smokes, dysfunction.

[roguevalley]

21. I remember when divorce wasn't legal. fuck them.

[avebury]

22. Marriage is such an unnecessary institution

in this day in age. If they make it impossible for people to get a divorce you would have to be crazy to get married in the first place. And forcing 2 people to stay together who don't want to stay together is hardly productive.

[Arugula Latte]

4. They get off on anything that causes pain for women.

It is truly sickening how misogynistic that party is.

[nomorenomore08]

8. +1

[JimDandy]

5. Those statistics look odd and

why is only one gender being reported on (grey box). For example, with suicides, they reported "number of women..." Why not "number of married women committing suicide"? Domestic violence statistics are gathered from incidents between unmarried couples and even roommates. Did they cull through the figures and pull out only those pertaining to married couples?

In any case, doing away with no-fault divorces seems like a very bad idea.

[Thinkingabout]

6. Again the party of "smaller government" gets into personal choices, they dont handle

The country business well and now want to take care of our personal lives. Santorum will soon command sex only for reasons of procreation.

[Ilsa]

9. I was going to argue for the idea of a separation period

for couples to rethink a divorce. But statistics don't lie about the difficulty it creates.

I wish marriage counseling was available to everyonr, but I'm not convinced that it is as effective as therapists claim.

[LeftyMom]

20. Generally people do one on their own before they file, just because that's how life works.

Most people I know thought about it and tried to make it work and maybe moved out and back in once or twice before they threw in the towel. Nobody decides to get divorced on Tuesday and files on Wednesday unless somebody went to the hospital or the county lockup on Tuesday night, in my experience.

[City Lights]

10. I wonder what divorced Republicans think of this.

There are lots of them out there.

[KamaAina]

11. Keyes? Any relation?

[Boomerproud]

12. For the last time-stay out of our lives!!!!

This from a 57-year old never-married woman-so I have no dog in this fight-until I do.

[Swede Atlanta]

14. Republicans don't believe in cause and effect or the scientific method....

Rather than making it more difficult for people to divorce perhaps they should focus more on the reasons that half of marriages end in divorce.

They talk about the sanctity of marriage and want to "protect" it from the destruction marriage equality would mean to this most holy institution. I think the heterosexual community have done well destroying the institution on their own.

But is it destroyed simply because people can exit a potentially loveless, abusive or non-functioning relationship? One might want to ask why these marriages fail.

I don't have statistics but I think the increase in divorce is influenced by family finances where the income of average Americans has not increased in real terms in 30 years. I think it is influenced by families where both parents are working more and more hours. I think it is influenced by the fact that more working individuals know they are just a "downsize" away from financial ruin.

I think it may be influenced by the fact that young people are leaving college with astronomical student loans that affect their everyday lives. I think it is influenced by the fact there are few jobs and job security is nonexistent.

I think it is influenced by a culture that does not support families except for a few tax deductions. I think it is influenced by the fact we are the only western country that doesn't have some form of paid maternity (and paternity) leave and that leave is long enough to actually bond with a new born.

I think it is influenced by the fact that healthcare is controlled by for-profit insurance companies.

I think it is influenced by the fact conservatives treat women like doormats in their policies. I think it is influenced by the proliferation of guns and our love of violence.

I think it is influenced by the widespread acceptance of the hours-long marriages of the Kardashians. Talk about not treating the institution as something special.

I think the increase in divorce is as much a factor of economic and social factors as what goes on between two individuals.

[nomorenomore08]

16. So spot on. You honestly should consider making this an OP.