Before the 1960s, it was really hard to get divorced in America.

Typically, the only way to do it was to convince a judge that your spouse had committed some form of wrongdoing, like adultery, abandonment, or “cruelty” (that is, abuse). This could be difficult: “Even if you could prove you had been hit, that didn’t necessarily mean it rose to the level of cruelty that justified a divorce,” said Marcia Zug, a family law professor at the University of South Carolina.

Then came a revolution: In 1969, then-Gov. Ronald Reagan of California (who was himself divorced) signed the nation’s first no-fault divorce law, allowing people to end their marriages without proving they’d been wronged. The move was a recognition that “people were going to get out of marriages,” Zug said, and gave them a way to do that without resorting to subterfuge. Similar laws soon swept the country, and rates of domestic violence and spousal murder began to drop as people — especially women — gained more freedom to leave dangerous situations.

Today, however, a counter-revolution is brewing: Conservative commentators and lawmakers are calling for an end to no-fault divorce, arguing that it has harmed men and even destroyed the fabric of society. Oklahoma state Sen. Dusty Deevers, for example, introduced a bill in January to ban his state’s version of no-fault divorce. The Texas Republican Party added a call to end the practice to its 2022 platform (the plank is preserved in the 2024 version). Federal lawmakers like Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) and House Speaker Mike Johnson, as well as former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, have spoken out in favor of tightening divorce laws.

  • djsoren19@yiffit.net
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    17 days ago

    When Ronald fucking Reagan is too liberal for your party, I think it’s time for self-examination.

    • kava@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      16 days ago

      Republicans today are not the same as Republicans back then. Reagan did more for illegal immigrants than any president since. I’d vote for him in a heartbeat if it was him versus the two bad jokes currently campaigning.

      • Jomega@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        16 days ago

        He also ignored the AIDS epidemic on purpose, leaving thousands to die simply because he didn’t like gay people.

          • Jomega@lemmy.world
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            16 days ago

            Ten thousand premeditated murders via deliberate inaction is not balanced out by a million visas granted. The severity of the crime gives it more weight. A life extinguished does not equal a life improved somewhat.

  • Chessmasterrex@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    16 days ago

    Good way to keep those marriage rates low. Can’t get divorced if one doesn’t bother getting married in the first place.

  • Snowclone@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    edit-2
    16 days ago

    Boy I wish our government wasn’t so good at bringing their nightmare fuel fever dreams to fruition, while constantly failing to do anything to better anyone in the way almost every voter agrees with.

  • kamenoko@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    1
    ·
    17 days ago

    “It harms men.”

    So does rat poison. You walk back no fault divorce get ready for a return of mysterious deaths of shitty men.

      • Aux@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        0
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        16 days ago

        With speed things progress over there, Saudi Arabia will soon become a better place for women.

    • CPMSP@midwest.social
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      0
      ·
      16 days ago

      Marriage in the eyes of a state is a legal contract. I don’t think faith is a barrier or consideration in this context.

      • مهما طال الليل@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        1
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        edit-2
        15 days ago

        So they are forcing their own interpretation of Christianity on everyone? I guess that the US doesn’t have separate courts for other religions… So no one’s allowed divorce even if allowed in their religion? this can’t be legal.

        To think that the caliphate at least allowed Jews and Christians to have their own religious courts.

  • TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    edit-2
    16 days ago

    This should require anyone working on these laws that is divorced to be retroactively married to their ex-spouse automatically.

  • asteriskeverything@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    0
    ·
    17 days ago

    This is what you really NEED to know about abolishing no fault divorce:

    And that will cause huge problems, especially for anyone experiencing abuse. “Any barrier to divorce is a really big challenge for survivors,” said Marium Durrani, vice president of policy at the National Domestic Violence Hotline. “What it really ends up doing is prolonging their forced entanglement with an abusive partner.”