Or is it more, an acknowledgement that the institution of marriage has been degraded so far, that those who want to recognize it for what it is are bringing it back to the surface.
As has been pointed out - I'm definitely a solid middle-grounder - some of my views are very very liberal, others in line with an "american" conservative viewpoint. On this one, I'd have to say - if you're gonna make a vow, you better be willing to keep it. There's enough other types of relationships available to couples these days for marriage to continue to be degraded by a high divorce rate, and people only after each others' money. Marriage for convenience is just bloody stupid. (but, lol, I've also got no issues with gay marriage, so long as they actually keep their vow).
Trying to Strengthen an 'I Do' With a More Binding Legal Tie
By RICK LYMAN
Published: February 15, 2005
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Feb. 14 - In front of more than 5,000 cheering constituents in a North Little Rock sports arena, Gov. Mike Huckabee took the former Janet McCain to be his lawfully wedded wife Monday night, just as he did nearly 31 years ago, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, until death do them part.
This time, although the actual vows were not repeated, the emphasis was clearly on the "until death" pledge.
Upgrading their vows to that of a covenant marriage, a legally binding contract available only in Arkansas, Arizona and Louisiana, the Huckabees hope to jump-start a conservative movement that has shown little sign of moving in recent years. A covenant marriage commits a couple to counseling before any separation and limits divorce to a handful of grounds, like adultery or abuse.
"I know that some people have thought this whole thing is cynical, that it's some sort of marriage-plus or high-octane marriage," Mr. Huckabee, a Republican and a former Baptist minister, said in an interview before the ceremony. "I think people enter into covenant marriage not because they want a super marriage, but because they understand that marriage is fragile."
The Huckabees' ceremony was only the most prominent of a series of events organized over the Valentine's Day weekend by covenant marriage supporters who say they sense that the time is right to reinvigorate their stalled movement.
No state has adopted a covenant marriage law since Arkansas in 2001, while two dozen have considered the idea and declined to embrace it. Even in the three states where it is legal, it is not mandatory and only small numbers of couples have opted for it, somewhere from 1 percent to 2 percent, according to studies.
"Truth is, it's not been much of a movement," said Steven Mintz, co-chairman of the Council on Contemporary Families, a nonprofit organization of academics and clinicians who study family issues.
But now, after President Bush won a victory that many attribute, in part, to his championing of traditional family values, proponents of covenant marriage sense an opportunity and say they can bring to the movement the same energy that opponents of same-sex-marriage brought to outlaw it in 11 states last year.
"The numbers haven't been real high yet," said Len Munsil, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, a conservative religious group, and a strong supporter of covenant marriage. "It did stall a little bit. The debate over same-sex marriage has taken a lot of attention."
Some proponents of covenant marriage say they see the two debates as related, that fighting same-sex marriage is part of a larger effort to strengthen traditional marriage. The event Monday night, held at the Alltel Arena, site of local basketball and hockey games and the occasional concert, was billed as Arkansas's first "Celebration of Marriage." Besides the governor's renewed nuptials there were speeches from national religious leaders and songs by the gospel and pop singer CeCe Winans.
Pastors held aloft signs ("New Life Church") and friends waved to one another from across the cavernous room.
Mr. and Mrs. Huckabee, who met as children in Hope, Ark., and had three children in their three decades of marriage, the only marriage for both, had undergone the pre-ceremony counseling mandated by covenant marriage.
Running across the foot of the stage was a banner reading, "Passion transformation intimacy oneness covenant."
At one point, as the governor was telling the crowd how easy it would be to convert their marriages to covenant ones, a whistle sounded and about two dozen protesters for gay rights rose in the back of the hall, unfurling a banner reading, "Queer equality now."
Governor Huckabee ignored them, the crowd tried to cheer the governor to drown them out and the police arrived to escort them quickly from the hall.
The ceremony itself was quick and bureaucratic. The governor and his wife took the stage along with the Pulaski County clerk, Pat O'Brien.
There was no fresh recitation of the wedding vows, just three simple questions: Had they sought counseling before taking this step? Had they had the proper affidavit notarized? Did they have a copy of their marriage license and that affidavit?
"Yes," the governor said.
Mr. O'Brien reached into his jacket and said, "Well, I just happen to have a stamp here."
He clicked the affidavit once, and that was it. The audience roared to its feet.
Covenant marriage was born out of growing concern about the rise of single-parent families, especially among the poor, and unease among conservatives about no-fault divorce laws, which they say make it too easy to end a marriage.
There is also some embarrassment among religious and political leaders in the Bible Belt that many of its states, including Arkansas, have some of the nation's highest divorce rates.
"We really feel the no-fault culture has been destructive," said Dennis Rainey, president of Family Life, a Christian group based in Little Rock. "There's something wrong when it's easier to get out of a marriage than it is to get out of a contract to buy a used car."
Governor Huckabee preferred, in an interview, to emphasize the financial impact of broken homes.
"If you start adding up the various costs - the costs of child-support enforcement, additional costs in human services, how many kids will go onto food stamps - it all adds up," he said. "With that kind of money, we could pay for a lot of teachers' salaries."
The drive for covenant marriage is part of a broader movement to promote marriage and stable families. Mr. Bush, for example, has included in his new budget more than $200 million for programs that "develop innovative approaches to promote healthy marriages," and to promote "family formation and healthy marriage activities."
But a White House spokesman said the president had taken no position on covenant marriage, which he considers a state issue.
As has been pointed out - I'm definitely a solid middle-grounder - some of my views are very very liberal, others in line with an "american" conservative viewpoint. On this one, I'd have to say - if you're gonna make a vow, you better be willing to keep it. There's enough other types of relationships available to couples these days for marriage to continue to be degraded by a high divorce rate, and people only after each others' money. Marriage for convenience is just bloody stupid. (but, lol, I've also got no issues with gay marriage, so long as they actually keep their vow).
Trying to Strengthen an 'I Do' With a More Binding Legal Tie
By RICK LYMAN
Published: February 15, 2005
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Feb. 14 - In front of more than 5,000 cheering constituents in a North Little Rock sports arena, Gov. Mike Huckabee took the former Janet McCain to be his lawfully wedded wife Monday night, just as he did nearly 31 years ago, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, until death do them part.
This time, although the actual vows were not repeated, the emphasis was clearly on the "until death" pledge.
Upgrading their vows to that of a covenant marriage, a legally binding contract available only in Arkansas, Arizona and Louisiana, the Huckabees hope to jump-start a conservative movement that has shown little sign of moving in recent years. A covenant marriage commits a couple to counseling before any separation and limits divorce to a handful of grounds, like adultery or abuse.
"I know that some people have thought this whole thing is cynical, that it's some sort of marriage-plus or high-octane marriage," Mr. Huckabee, a Republican and a former Baptist minister, said in an interview before the ceremony. "I think people enter into covenant marriage not because they want a super marriage, but because they understand that marriage is fragile."
The Huckabees' ceremony was only the most prominent of a series of events organized over the Valentine's Day weekend by covenant marriage supporters who say they sense that the time is right to reinvigorate their stalled movement.
No state has adopted a covenant marriage law since Arkansas in 2001, while two dozen have considered the idea and declined to embrace it. Even in the three states where it is legal, it is not mandatory and only small numbers of couples have opted for it, somewhere from 1 percent to 2 percent, according to studies.
"Truth is, it's not been much of a movement," said Steven Mintz, co-chairman of the Council on Contemporary Families, a nonprofit organization of academics and clinicians who study family issues.
But now, after President Bush won a victory that many attribute, in part, to his championing of traditional family values, proponents of covenant marriage sense an opportunity and say they can bring to the movement the same energy that opponents of same-sex-marriage brought to outlaw it in 11 states last year.
"The numbers haven't been real high yet," said Len Munsil, president of the Center for Arizona Policy, a conservative religious group, and a strong supporter of covenant marriage. "It did stall a little bit. The debate over same-sex marriage has taken a lot of attention."
Some proponents of covenant marriage say they see the two debates as related, that fighting same-sex marriage is part of a larger effort to strengthen traditional marriage. The event Monday night, held at the Alltel Arena, site of local basketball and hockey games and the occasional concert, was billed as Arkansas's first "Celebration of Marriage." Besides the governor's renewed nuptials there were speeches from national religious leaders and songs by the gospel and pop singer CeCe Winans.
Pastors held aloft signs ("New Life Church") and friends waved to one another from across the cavernous room.
Mr. and Mrs. Huckabee, who met as children in Hope, Ark., and had three children in their three decades of marriage, the only marriage for both, had undergone the pre-ceremony counseling mandated by covenant marriage.
Running across the foot of the stage was a banner reading, "Passion transformation intimacy oneness covenant."
At one point, as the governor was telling the crowd how easy it would be to convert their marriages to covenant ones, a whistle sounded and about two dozen protesters for gay rights rose in the back of the hall, unfurling a banner reading, "Queer equality now."
Governor Huckabee ignored them, the crowd tried to cheer the governor to drown them out and the police arrived to escort them quickly from the hall.
The ceremony itself was quick and bureaucratic. The governor and his wife took the stage along with the Pulaski County clerk, Pat O'Brien.
There was no fresh recitation of the wedding vows, just three simple questions: Had they sought counseling before taking this step? Had they had the proper affidavit notarized? Did they have a copy of their marriage license and that affidavit?
"Yes," the governor said.
Mr. O'Brien reached into his jacket and said, "Well, I just happen to have a stamp here."
He clicked the affidavit once, and that was it. The audience roared to its feet.
Covenant marriage was born out of growing concern about the rise of single-parent families, especially among the poor, and unease among conservatives about no-fault divorce laws, which they say make it too easy to end a marriage.
There is also some embarrassment among religious and political leaders in the Bible Belt that many of its states, including Arkansas, have some of the nation's highest divorce rates.
"We really feel the no-fault culture has been destructive," said Dennis Rainey, president of Family Life, a Christian group based in Little Rock. "There's something wrong when it's easier to get out of a marriage than it is to get out of a contract to buy a used car."
Governor Huckabee preferred, in an interview, to emphasize the financial impact of broken homes.
"If you start adding up the various costs - the costs of child-support enforcement, additional costs in human services, how many kids will go onto food stamps - it all adds up," he said. "With that kind of money, we could pay for a lot of teachers' salaries."
The drive for covenant marriage is part of a broader movement to promote marriage and stable families. Mr. Bush, for example, has included in his new budget more than $200 million for programs that "develop innovative approaches to promote healthy marriages," and to promote "family formation and healthy marriage activities."
But a White House spokesman said the president had taken no position on covenant marriage, which he considers a state issue.
Or, is there something in particular you'd like expanded?
If you don't get maried and divorced at least 5 times in Cali you're not living the dream.