Bitter has an interesting post up about some people who want to change divorce laws in Virginia that I think is worth a read:
So since a mandatory separation giving them a year to think about it already required, what is Clayton suggesting they change? It would appear from the article that the group really is trying to keep people from leaving a marriage if the other refuses to approve it. It’s not an ideal situation at all, but I think it’s a bad path to go down if we refuse to let them out of it. If they really are just trying to add punishment like making custody rules tighter or something for the person who files, I really don’t see how that does anything to improve a family.
I think Bitter is right here. If there’s a problem with people walking away from marriages too easily, the solution isn’t to pass more laws, and get the government to intrude more into people’s private lives. I don’t have too many issues with the government recognizing marriages, and dealing with the legal mess when they dissolve as a byproduct of that recognition, but I do have a problem, a big problem, with using it as a hook to meddle in people’s personal affairs. If the government ran my life as well as it runs itself, my life would be a mess. I agree that divorce is a problem, and people resort to it too quickly, but that’s not an issue for government to be concerned about.
It’s hard for me to understand how converatives like Clayton understand that the government is bad at running the economy, but somehow think it can be good at managing people’s lives. I don’t want people’s personal affairs becoming a political issue, no matter how messed up they are. People suck, and conservatives need to get over it, and stop looking for the government solutions to that basic fact.
I don’t mind the waiting periods. At least the 6 month one (a year really is pushing it), in my mind, isn’t bad to get through these things. I think it probably does make someone who goes so far as to approach a lawyer have second thoughts, as they should when making a big decision like divorce. As the child of way too many divorces, I’m okay with giving people time to think. But we already have that, which, giving Clayton the benefit of the doubt, he probably didn’t realize.
I just hope that he’s not actually supporting refusing to allow a divorce without the consent of both parties. I mean as a woman, I know how bitchy we can get. I can see someone refusing out of spite or even denial in the truly sad cases. And that won’t do anything to contribute to mentally stable children. Not to mention punishing the parent filing for divorce. This group is apparently upset that who files isn’t taken into consideration when awarding custody. I’m a fan of the method that looks for the home or situation best for the child, but apparently that is trumped by “his fault/her fault” bickering for this group.
I like your last sentence though. Spot on.