[Vision2020] Idaho Task Force Looks at Stricter Marriage Law

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (January 2, 2008) Spokesman Review -

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Idaho task force looks at stricter marriage law 
Betsy Z. Russell 
Staff writer
January 2, 2008

BOISE - Idaho could enact a "covenant marriage" law to discourage divorce,
encourage more premarital counseling, rethink domestic violence restraining
order laws and require a "family impact statement" on every legislative
bill, if the Legislature follows up on all the recommendations of its
"Family Task Force."

But task force Chairman Rep. Steven Thayn, R-Emmett, said he'll be happy if
his committee's work just brings more awareness to family issues. "A lot of
what we suggested was to stimulate the discussion, rather than any specific
legislation," Thayn said.
 
He chaired a task force that consisted of six House members, who held three
hearings around the state over the summer and fall. The panel's official
charge: "To study the magnitude of the decline of the family since 1950; the
effects the decline has had on state social policies; the reasons for the
decline, and ways to strengthen the family."

Boise State University political scientist emeritus Jim Weatherby, who has
watched the Idaho Legislature for decades, said, "I don't remember a
committee similar to this that was so lopsided to the right." But, he said,
"It's been a long time since the House has had a conservative speaker like
Lawerence Denney."

Thayn said that when he proposed the task force to Denney, "he was
supportive."

But Denney, in a recent interview, said he thinks it's unlikely that the
group's work will result in any legislation.

"I think probably some of their findings were tainted by the passion of the
chairman. . I think he got ahead of his committee a little bit," Denney
said.

"But, you know, they still, I think, did raise the awareness of the
importance of the family, and the fact that many of the policy decisions we
make do affect the family," Denney said. "So I think even if there's no
legislation, I think there's still good that can come out of that."

Only three states, Louisiana, Arkansas and Arizona, currently have covenant
marriage laws. The laws offer a voluntary type of marriage that requires
premarital counseling, followed by a commitment for life. Divorce can be
granted only for a few reasons, including adultery, abuse and felony
incarceration.

"If we can reduce the trauma of divorce on kids, we'd be better off," Thayn
said. "Some marriages need to end, I mean if there's violence, if there's
drug addiction, if there's abuse. But many divorces are not for those
reasons."

Thayn said it's worth looking at any possible improvements to Idaho's laws.
"I'm not so sure we've really studied divorce laws much in the last 30
years," he said. "It's just something we need to look at again."

The panel's recommendations also include a review of domestic violence
restraining order laws and policies. Thayn said that was prompted by a case
involving his own son, Damon, who was arrested for physically assaulting his
wife. The court imposed a three-month restraining order even though neither
spouse wanted it, Thayn said.

"It seemed a little Draconian," he said. "It caused some real problems on my
son and his wife who were wanting to make their marriage work." 

Rep. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries, proposed the family impact statement for
legislative bills, "because right now we don't really think about the family
when we're doing a bill," he said.

Harwood said, "You have mental illness, you have abuse, you have drug
problems, alcohol problems, things like that. And you can kind of relate all
that back to the breakdown of the family, if you really look at it real
close."

The family task force formed after the House declined to participate in a
Senate interim committee looking at early childhood education issues. Thayn
said his task force decided not to discuss early childhood education since
the Senate panel was dealing with it.

Thayn said his group didn't end up focusing much on what the American family
was like in 1950. "We wanted to include all families," he said. "What we
focused in on was the relationship between the parent and the child . to
encourage that bond between parent and child. That seems to be the real
important key. A lot of single mothers do a pretty good job, and some
traditional families don't."

Also among the task force's 14 recommendations are more parenting education
and character education, encouraging more premarital counseling, a voluntary
quality rating system for day care centers, and requiring welfare recipients
to work toward personal goals.

Rep. Branden Durst, D-Boise, the lone Democrat on the task force, said he's
working on a minority report. "The society that we have now is so much more
diversified than it was even 15 or 20 years ago," he said. "I was disturbed
just from a fundamental level on kind of the premise of the committee."

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

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