- cross-posted to:
- politics@beehaw.org
- cross-posted to:
- politics@beehaw.org
Before the 1960s, it was really hard to get divorced in America.
Typically, the only way to do it was to convince a judge that your spouse had committed some form of wrongdoing, like adultery, abandonment, or ācrueltyā (that is, abuse). This could be difficult: āEven if you could prove you had been hit, that didnāt necessarily mean it rose to the level of cruelty that justified a divorce,ā saidĀ Marcia Zug, a family law professor at the University of South Carolina.
Then came a revolution: In 1969, then-Gov. Ronald Reagan of California (who was himself divorced) signedĀ the nationās first no-fault divorce law, allowing people to end their marriages without proving theyād been wronged. The move was a recognition that āpeople were going to get out of marriages,ā Zug said, and gave them a way to do that withoutĀ resorting to subterfuge. Similar laws soon swept the country, and rates ofĀ domestic violence and spousal murderĀ began to drop as people ā especially women ā gained more freedom to leave dangerous situations.
Today, however, a counter-revolution is brewing:Ā Conservative commentatorsĀ andĀ lawmakersĀ are calling for an end to no-fault divorce, arguing that it has harmed men and even destroyed the fabric of society. Oklahoma state Sen. Dusty Deevers, for example,Ā introduced a billĀ in January to ban his stateās version of no-fault divorce. The Texas Republican Party added a call to end the practice to itsĀ 2022 platformĀ (the plank is preserved inĀ the 2024 version). Federal lawmakers like Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) andĀ House Speaker Mike Johnson, as well as former Housing and Urban Development SecretaryĀ Ben Carson, have spoken out in favor of tightening divorce laws.
No, because they had a valid reason to get divorced, unlike everyone else.
Just like their abortion.
I have had enough of conservatives climbing into the tree house and pulling up the ladder behind them.
Some, they say, canāt get married. Now they want to say who can split up. Letās see them live the walk they talk first.
You know for sure they will find a reason why they canāt live the walk.
And they are probably afraid that their wives will leave them because they are pieces of shit.
I know more than one woman who fled one of these convenant marriage states. One still canāt get the divorce officialized because her toxic abusive husband keeps insisting on an endless parade of marriage counseling, via answers to the divorce court.
I donāt know if forcing her back into the marriage because that same abusive husband started working for a legislative lobbying outfit would be productive.