The Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence hoped for a bill that would "lighten the load a little bit" for victims of domestic violence seeking divorce. But the House Ethics committee chairman killed the bill without a vote, saying he didn't want to "open the floodgates" to divorce, according to a report published in US News.
The same committee killed Senate Bill 2483, which would allow separated couples who have no minor children divorce. This would eliminate or cut down on the long and expensive ordeal separated partners currently go through because of MS' antiquated divorce laws, says the Clarion-Ledger.
Committee chairman Andy Gipson, who is also a Baptist minister, argued that the law already covers domestic abuse under "habitual cruel and inhuman treatment," and that the legislature should be adopting policies that support "people sticking together."
However the state's current law doesn't allow for emotional and financial abuse, says MCADV's director. Other victim advocates have a problem with the "habitual" part of the current law, because it could require that the victim suffer more than one attack and have to prove repeated abuse, which often occurs without other witnesses to corroborate the victim"s testimony.
The senator who introduced bill 2703 says she believes the bill would have survived under another chairman, and she's going to reintroduce it. Bottom line, those who suffer domestic violence shouldn't suffer more because of antiquated divorce laws.
Sign this petition insisting that Gipson allow the bill to get to the floor next time.
To Ethics Committee Chairman Andy Gipson;
Senator Sally Doty, who introduced the bill making it easier for victims of domestic abuse to get a divorce, told the press she believed that under any other chairman, this bill would have made it out of committee. She is not the only one who wants an explanation as to why the bill was killed without a vote.
The Clarion-Ledger points out that because MS divorce laws have hardly changed at all in the last century, getting a divorce in your state "can be a long expensive ordeal."
C-L adds that experts say these antiquated laws "trap spouses and children in abusive situations and-or financial limbo." As a result, people who are already traumatized, must then go through "an expensive divorce process" that "puts low-income people at a disadvantage, especially those who are victims of domestic violence."
To make matters worse, the process is a burden on taxpayers because it "clogs the courts...with cases that can drag on and on."
There is nothing in your arguments opposing this bill that outweigh these concerns and others. Nor is waiting another year to support effective reform justified.
Therefore I, and those who support this petition, insist that you at least allow a vote when this bill is reintroduced.
