Re-Education Camps - Coming to Your Area Soon

It used to be that individuals would, in many instances, receive advice from their parents and friends, regarding impending marriage plans.  Not that the advice received from parents and friends was always beneficial, but, at least there were typically no strings attached to the advice, and if there were, you could easily cut the strings and go your own way.

Here in the state of Michigan, the legislature has been busy crafting marriage “advice,” complete with strings, which can’t be cut though.  It seems that Michigan’s senate members, at least the majority of them, feel that Michigan citizens would be better served if the State counseled them on the pitfalls and perils of marriage and divorce, rather than parents and friends.  So, in their infinite wisdom, they are attempting to pass a bill which would require marriage counseling classes in order to procure a marriage license and another bill to which would require dangers of divorce counseling if individuals wish to divorce.

Senate approves marriage bills 

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/03 at 02:05 PM

  1. I’ve not read these bills, but I wonder how government-sponsored counseling can work without running afoul of the Establishment Clause. Since most marriages take place under religious sanction—and many religious groups provide or require premarital counseling—at some point the government’s policy will come into contact with and possibly conflict with religous policy.

    I’m currently working on a Supreme Court brief in a case that involves the scope of so-called “government speech”. There, the federal government says its own speech is not subject to First Amendment limits, meaning the government can advocate positions that contradict the beliefs of private organizations. Applied to marital counseling, the government could effectively tell people “divorce is immoral and evil” or “you’re too young to marry.”

    Posted by Skip Oliva  on  10/03  at  10:32 PM

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