Utah lawmakers are considering a bill that will mandate divorce education courses.
The Utah Legislature will be considering a bill aimed to save marriages. The mandate will require couples to attend a “divorce education class” before filing for divorce.
The bill will make the course free of charge and available online. The proponents say this will help teach marriage survival skills that might turn some away for divorce…
When presenting the bill, rep. Jim Nielson stated that “governments must recognize and respect the natural family imuch the same way and for exactly the same reason that they must recognize basic human rights.”
But some representatives disagreed with making it a requirement.
“Why don’t we change it?” asked rep. Bradley Shaw in the session. “Instead of making a mandate, why don’t we create an incentive?”
Several lawmakers suggested that it may be better to invest in a marriage preparation course instead. They argued that doing so would more effectively prevent divorce than the courses already offered.
Another question: If a woman is abused by her husband and wants to get out of the marriage, she will have to enroll in a divorce course, with her husband, before she can escape?
Lawmakers need to keep their fingers out of the personal affairs of the people and spend more time on making sure that everyone has access to services to help them survive.
Filed under: Citizen Rights, Religion, Utah Legislature Tagged: | Family
I would suspect that this is not about preventing divorce in abusive marriages. I suspect this is more aimed at the divorces brought about by “at will” or “differences.” I doubt a spouse, female or male, would be forced to attend the classes with their abuser.