Family Law

Oklahoma Conservatives Debate Divorce Law

By ckramer

In Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, as budget problems and economic concerns continue to draw the attention of legislators, politicians are considering whether to pursue a piece of legislation that would attempt to address the issue of divorce in the state, according to the Associated Press.

The Oklahoma legislature is controlled by members of the Republican party, and divorce legislation is a sensitive subject for conservatives across the country.

Further complicating the matter and facing conservatives against each other ideologically, Oklahoma divorce rates are among the highest in the nation, falling behind only Nevada and Arkansas based on 2007 data. There were 28,419 marriages in Oklahoma that year, and 18,851 divorces.

Poverty, teen pregnancy and early marriage are cited as possible causes of the divorce rate problem.

Such high rates of divorce come in a state whose conservative leaders continually stress the importance of family values. Church attendance levels in Oklahoma are among the highest of any state.

Three bills were proposed by the Oklahoma Legislature recently. While two of them were shot down, one has stayed alive and awaits action. This bill would require newlywed couples to attend planning sessions, and that couples who were considering divorce to attend therapy sessions.

Conservatives critical of the bill say that their values dictate that the government should not intrude on the private lives of individuals. One Republican legislator, Representative Leslie Osborn, asked How far do I want government to come into my home and your home about private personal matters?

Those conservatives who support the bill, though, feel that the actual impact of the bill would be minimal. It might provide a little benefit up front to newly married couples, said Republican Representative Mark McCullough said of his bill, adding that it could very well satisfy a compelling government interest. It’s a terrible crisis.

The rift between Republicans has shown the divide between fiscal and social conservatives. And while other issues have brought out this divide, like gay marriage and women’s reproductive rights, the divorce issue is of particular interest given the high rates in the state.

The issue of divorce is not only a social issue, however. A 2008 study showed, for example, that the cost of divorce and single parent child-bearing across the country could be as high as $112 billion.

Such costs have raised the awareness of the fiscal conservatives, as legislators have struggled with a $665 million shortfall in the state budget this session.

Of the two bills that did not make it through to this point, one would have required that couples having marital problems visit a therapist or faith-based counselor before getting a divorce. The other bill would have ended “incompatibility” as a cause for divorces in marriages over ten years or divorce involving children.

The only bill to last has been McCullough’s measure to require pre-marriage planning and troubled marriage counseling.

The more dysfunction you stop up the stream the less you will have to spend down the stream. We need to take this seriously, McCullough said.

Full post as published by The Divorce Blog on March 12, 2010 (boomark / email).