I was sitting in my Marriage and Family class the other day and my professor opened discussion on a subject that I thought was quite interesting and though it is currently taking place in California, it has the potential to become a national issue. I’m talking about actions being taken to make divorce illegal in California.
John Marcotte, the author of the 2010 California Protection of Marriage Act, is leading this initiative and has said that he is very serious in this endeavor and has taken action in order to ensure its success. As many may know, Proposition 8, the ballot proposition that took away the right of same-sex couples to marry in California, was passed last year and Marcotte said that he means this new proposition to be an extension of the good work that was done with it.
Marcotte submitted this initiative to the Attorney General in Sept. 2009 and a volunteer-based petition was then said to follow. His goal is to have this act on the 2010 ballot in California. The statement that heads his website is “You said ’til death do us part. You’re not dead yet.”
Marcotte was interviewed by Robert Cockerham and asked a series of questions regarding this issue. Cockerham pointed out it is very possible for this act to be passed and the only way around it is if the marriage could be voidable, such as if a person were mentally incapable of making that kind of decision.
Marcotte said he does not believe his plan tramples on individual liberty.
“Sometimes other people need to sacrifice in order to protect my ideas about traditional marriage. It’s just a fact of life. It’s not about their soul-sucking sham of a marriage, it’s about what we value as a society,” Marcotte said. “We live in a divorce-promiscuous society. It’s on the television, it’s in movies, the newspapers. It’s even in our kids’ textbooks. I’m Catholic. In my religion, divorce is a sin – completely impermissible.”
He often uses the Bible and the history of divorce to aid his cause. But the truth of the matter is this: the laws of the Bible and the laws
of man are quite different. What may be wrong in the sight of God may not necessarily be punishable or wrong in the eye of the law.
The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
This aids him as far as freedom of speech but it doesn’t support him in the fact that most of his reasons are based on religion. Furthermore, it seems that he only mentions the Bible as a defense when it’s convenient for him. And yes, it’s true that current divorce rates are 50 percent and have increased significantly over the past decades.
But it is also true that times have changed. In past years, divorce was highly frowned upon and very uncommon and many of the reasons people should have divorced were hidden such as physical and verbal abuse, infidelity and many, many more. Nowadays, divorce is more socially acceptable and viewed in greater respect.
I’m not saying I agree that divorce is always the best option, but I do agree that there are instances where divorce may be necessary and it’s not up to Marcotte or any other human being to try to take that away. I sympathize with his concern and what may be his willingness to see this come to pass but free will also
comes into play when you are talking about God and the Bible.
And yes, many have argued Marcotte is not being entirely serious in this especially because he seems to use the Bible when it works to his advantage but ignores it when it seems to work against his cause. If this is the case I’m not sure what to say for him. Everyone has the right to make whatever decision they feel like they have to. You may teach or advise against someone’s decision, but you don’t have the right to make it for them.
Stedmond Ware is a sophomore majoring in biological sciences. He can be contacted at [email protected].