Iowa Republicans Propose Harsh Divorce Law - Business Insider

Courtesy of the Huffington Post

Republican lawmakers in Iowa's House of Representatives moved forward with a bill this week that would make it more difficult for married couples with children to get a divorce.?

The legislation, which passed a House subcommittee Monday, would ban "no-fault" divorce in Iowa for parents of children under 18. That means that in order to end their marriage,?those couples would have to prove to a judge that?one party was guilty of adultery, abuse, had committed a felony, or had abandoned the family for more than two years.?

Republican supporters of the bill claim it help stop children from experiencing the negative impacts of divorce.?One sponsor of the bill, Iowa Rep. Tedd Gassman, even went so far as to claim that the legislation would prevent young girls from "being more promiscuous," adding that his granddaughter had been put "at risk" by her parents' divorce.?

?There?s a 16-year-old girl in this whole mix now. Guess what? What are the possibilities of her being more promiscuous?? Gassman?said Monday, according to Iowa Radio. ?What are the possibilities of all these other things surrounding her life that a 16-year-old girl, with hormones raging, can get herself into??

Gassman's comments ignited a firestorm, and underscored the difficulties the Republican Party faces in Iowa, a swing state that also holds the nation's first presidential caucuses.?

On the one hand, the bill provided instant fodder for Democrats' "War On Women" attacks. All 50 states allow no-fault divorce, a law that was ironically pioneered in California in 1970 by ? then-Governor Ronald Reagan, himself a divorc?.

Since then, studies have shown that the laws are primarily beneficial to women, leading to a 33 percent reduction in domestic violence and 20 percent reduction in female suicide.?

On the other hand, religious conservatives ? a powerful Republican constituency in Iowa ? generally support the proposed restrictions on divorce.

"Divorce impacts more than just the kids, it impacts the couple themselves, it impacts everyone," said Matt Floyd, a conservative activist and pastor of Calvary Bible Church in Osceola, Iowa. "Marriage needs to be preserved ? it's why we have these vows."?

Taking critics head on, conservative Iowa talk radio host Steve Deace also argued that divorce is not the best way to ensure safety for women.?

"We are a smart society ? I believe that we can come up with a system that protects women and prevents drive-thru divorce," Deace said, adding: "Using divorce to protect women is like protecting children by giving them matches. Women are never safer than when they are in a healthy, wholesome, marriage with a husband who understands his role in that relationship."?

For religious conservatives like Floyd and Deace, the issue of divorce is not legal or political, but moral ? and therein lies the political peril for Republicans. If the divorce issue persists, GOP candidates in Iowa's 2014 House and Senate races may have to walk a thin line between being pro-family and pro-divorce.?

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/iowa-republicans-divorce-women-2013-3

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