KANSAS LAWMAKER CONSIDERS COVENANT MARRIAGE BILL: From the Associated Press

The renewed focus on marriage is persuading Kansas lawmakers to try again at passing a measure that would make certain holy unions tougher to sunder.

Republican Sen. Tim Huelskamp of Fowler, who this year led the unsuccessful effort for a Kansas constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, said he would like to introduce legislation providing for so-called covenant marriage.

Such marriages would be optional but would require the couple to undergo premarital counseling, file an affidavit saying they intend to stay together for life and take reasonable steps to preserve the marriage, such as marriage counseling.

If the marriage had problems, the legislation would limit the grounds for divorce to adultery, spousal or child abuse, abandonment for at least a year or a felony conviction. It would also require the couple to remain separated for two years before the divorce could be final. Huelskamp and his House counterpart, Rep. Kathe Decker, R-Clay Center, said covenant marriages would set a higher standard for couples who want to meet it.

"It's too easy to get a divorce," Huelskamp said. "The way the law is now, a husband or a wife can walk out on a marriage with no reason. That hurts families, and it hurts the children of those families."

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