Senate Majority Whip Leonard Blackham, R-Moroni, believes marriage is a state-sanctioned contract, the sole purpose of which is to bring children into the world. "Without that, there is no reason (for marriage)," he said.
That is why Blackham joined with a majority of senators who gave preliminary approval Thursday to a bill by Sen. Craig Taylor, R-Kaysville, that would curtail Utah's no-fault divorce law.The Senate voted 18-10 to amend Utah's divorce law so that both parties must agree to "irreconcilable differences" as a ground for divorce in all cases all cases where there are children involved.
According to Taylor, divorce is too easy and the consequences too devastating on children. In fact, he said it is more difficult for an employer to fire a bad employee than for one spouse to dump the other.
The bill "is not going to save every marriage, but it is a small step in the right direction," he said.
Without irreconcilable differences as grounds for a divorce, a spouse seeking a divorce would have to prove impotency, adultery, desertion, neglect, a felony conviction, habitual drunkenness, cruelty or incurable insanity or that they had lived apart for three years.
Most senators were clearly uncomfortable with the bill, citing numerous examples of neighbors and family members who used no-fault grounds to end bad and sometimes dangerous relationships.
"We have all seen situations where people are in relationships that are not healthy. Sometimes it is better to leave people to their own decisions," said Sen. Alarik Myrin, R-Altamont.
Taylor said the vast majority of divorces in Utah are filed on grounds of irreconcilable differences. If the state forces individuals to prove a different ground for divorce, they might think harder about the decision. "We have to try and save our families," he said.
The bill is scheduled for final approval Friday.