Yes, we're all about smaller government with less involvement in the lives of our citizens. Really. We are.
From AJC.com
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From AJC.com
Spouses seeking a divorce soon may have to wait longer before they can call it quits, and those who commit adultery could lose their rights to marital property.
Several state legislators are pushing bills they say will strengthen marriage by making divorce a longer, and perhaps costlier, process.
A Senate bill introduced Wednesday would extend the waiting period from 30 days to six months for an uncontested divorce of a couple with children, and to four months if no children are involved.
The bill by state Sen. Mitch Seabaugh (R-Sharpsburg) calls children "innocent victims" of legal separation and divorce. They are often "negatively affected academically, socially, emotionally, and psychologically" by the stress and trauma of divorce, the legislation declares. Last year, a similar bill was approved in the Senate, 33-21, but died in the House Judiciary Committee. With Republicans in control of the House, the divorce bill now has a good chance of passing.
Legislation to stem divorces or make them harder to acquire may receive support from Democrats, who also have expressed concern about the high number of failed marriages.
Many opponents of Georgia's constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, approved over- whelmingly by voters on Nov. 2, argued that gay marriage would not hurt the institution of marriage as much as divorce does.
Some conservative national organizations, such as James Dobson's Focus on the Family, have devoted considerable effort to promoting marriage and to urging couples to seek divorce as a last resort.
The bill before the Georgia Senate would require divorcing parents with children to attend classes for a minimum of four hours that focus on the effects of divorce and separation on children. Many judicial circuits in Georgia already require such classes.
"The social impact of divorce is overwhelming," Seabaugh said. "I think it is important to do what we can to help families."
"Anything to cut down on divorce is a good thing," said state Sen. Nancy Schaefer (R-Turnerville), one of the bill's co-sponsors. She is president of Family Concerns, a nonprofit, Christian organization dedicated to family issues.
"If a couple would stop and think about what they're doing, that could change their minds," Schaefer said, referring to the longer waiting period.
The waiting period would be waived if either the husband or wife has a protective order or if there has been family violence.
Some legislators expressed concern about meddling in the private lives of Georgia citizens.
"I've been married for 30 years and I believe in marriage, but people have a right to make a decision they can live with," said state Sen. Valencia Seay (D-College Park). "This bill is telling people how to run their personal lives. I don't think that's our duty."
The divorce rate in the United States has steadily increased. A study by the Census Bureau in 2002 said nearly half of recent first marriages end in divorce. In 2003, 59,441 couples married in Georgia, while 35,018 divorced, according to National Vital Statistics Reports.
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