Few takers for 'covenants'
Chris Richards / Staff
By Joseph Barrios
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
When Roger Blumenthal heard singer Britney Spears was married in Las Vegas and divorced about 55 hours later, he cringed.
"Our (society's) view of marriage is it's contracted and when you're unhappy with it, you can walk away from it. People say, 'Hey, its your right. You can do whatever you want,' " said Blumenthal, pastor at Pantano Christian Church.
That attitude may explain why so few people in Arizona have taken advantage of a law enacted just over five years ago that allows for "covenant marriages," in which couples must get counseling before getting married and voluntarily put legal limits on when they can divorce. Louisiana and Arkansas also have such laws.
Between Aug. 21, 1998 - when covenant marriage licenses became available - and the end of 2003, 116 couples in Pima County either filed for a covenant marriage license or converted their marriage licenses to covenant, according to statistics kept by the Clerk of Pima County Superior Court.
One covenant marriage has been dissolved through divorce. That's because divorces can occur only after both parties agree to them or after one spouse is accused of certain things including adultery, drug use or abuse or is convicted of a felony.
In 2003, there were 20 covenant marriage licenses or conversions filed in Pima County. That's only 0.3 percent of the 6,125 marriage licenses taken out by couples last year.
Robert G. Loveless, 68, and the former Leona M. Collins, 66, filed for their covenant marriage license on Dec. 22. They were married Christmas Eve at an evening ceremony at Trinity Life Chapel, 3920 N. San Rafael Ave.
The couple chose to file for a covenant marriage license as a way to honor their commitment. Both had been married before. Loveless said his last wife left and then divorced him.
"I know I made my mistakes," Loveless said. Even when there were problems, he said he never considered filing for divorce.
"I cannot, according to the way I read the Bible. It's a commitment. You make promises," Loveless said. "People bring up my ex-marriage, but God doesn't."
As for his current wife, Loveless said, "She's a wonderful lady."
Jo Winslow, 45, a Pantano Christian Church employee, said covenant marriage was the clear choice for her and husband Mark Winslow, 51, a chaplain for the Arizona Department of Corrections. The Winslows would even like to see Arizona law reach closer to biblical standards.
"We were committed to permanent marriage," Winslow said. "We wanted something to reflect the intent of our commitment, to show a little bit more, even if it wasn't much. We just wanted to do everything we could as a testament to show we're really committed to the permanency of marriage."
While it would appear there are success stories, the numbers are disappointing, said Arizona Treasurer David A. Petersen, a Mesa Republican who sponsored the covenant marriage bill while a state senator.
Petersen said he thought up to 10 percent of couples who wanted to tie the knot would opt for covenant marriage licenses. He no longer tries to keep track of covenant marriage licenses but said probably less than 1 percent of couples choose covenant marriage.
"I would say that it has not been properly taken advantage of. Some pastors said they would even want to make this a prerequisite before they performed a ceremony," Petersen said. "They believed in it, and I do, too, but it must not have been received by their own people."
While Arizona law and the biblical definition of covenant marriage differ, the idea of strengthening marriage has its supporters.
President Bush plans to make $1.5 billion available for training to help couples develop interpersonal skills that sustain "healthy marriages."
Officials say they believed the measure is especially timely now because they are facing pressure from conservatives eager to see the federal government defend traditional marriage, following a decision by the highest court in Massachusetts. The court ruled in November that gay couples had a right to marry under the state's constitution.
The Covenant Marriage Movement (www.covenant
marriage.com), an organization that says it has more than 60 cooperating ministries, has designated the third Sunday of February as Covenant Marriage Sunday, when couples can affirm their marriages.
Here in Tucson, Pantano Christian Church is sponsoring a covenant marriage conference in June.
Blumenthal said some church members who have married chose not to get covenant marriage licenses because they didn't feel the law was strong enough. Still, Blumenthal feels the change in the law was a "great step."
* Contact reporter Joseph Barrios at 573-4241 or jbarrios@azstarnet.com. |
