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Texas social conservatives want to expand their victory on a gay marriage ban and reduce the state's divorce rate and pass a nationwide amendment to prevent same sex unions.
Authored by Rep. Warren Chisum and endorsed by Texas voters by a ratio of more than 3-to-1, Chisum believes it is too easy for married couples to split up, and the state should consider repealing or modifying its no-fault divorce law.
Proposing between now and their next regular session in 2007 lawmakers study ways to make marriages in the state last, some conservatives hope the Texas vote will add momentum to Congress passing a federal constitution amendment outlawing same sex marriage. Texas was the 19th state to place a same sex marriage ban in its constitution with a strong 76 percent to 24 percent vote.
The amendment prohibits the state and local governments from recognizing any status similar to marriage, but opponents have expressed concerns that benefits shared by gay couples could be banned in its entirety. Endorsing Chisum's call for a review of the state's no-fault divorce law that took effect in 1974, Cathie Adams, president of the conservative Texas Eagle Forum, said she favored a ban on gay and lesbian foster parents that the state House passed in spring.
Texas had about 3.9 divorces for every 1,000 residents in 2002, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a higher rate than New York or Massachusetts. Chisum said he planned to ask House Speaker Tom Craddick to convene a panel to examine no-fault divorce, longer waiting periods for marriage applicants and “covenant marriage,” an idea tried in three other states that provides an alternative to traditional marriage for couples who oppose no-fault divorce or who want to demonstrate a stronger commitment to their marriage.
Couples who choose a covenant marriage must get premarital counseling and may only divorce after a separation of two years or after proving adultery or domestic abuse. Last year, a similar effort by President Bush stalled, but conservative lawmakers hope the amendment will come to a vote in Congress, and social conservative leaders hope the Texas vote will add urgency for Congress to act.