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For many people, there is nothing more painful than a complicated, drawn-out divorce, and one Arizona legislator hopes to extend that pain and misery by a few more months.
State Representative Nancy Barto has sponsored legislation that would make the wait-time for a divorce to finalize longer than it already is.
Currently, it takes two months for a divorce to be finalized in Arizona, but if Barto’s bill, HB 2650, becomes law, that time would be extended to six months.
The purpose of the extension is to give people more time to reconsider whether they want to get divorced at all.
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Arizona’s divorce rate in 2008 was nearly 64 percent, so perhaps a better law would be a six-month waiting period for people to get married.
“Fifteen other states that have longer waiting periods before a divorce is granted have lower divorce rates,” Barto tells KTAR.
So what, Nancy? Are we in a Christian morality contest? Is there any financial benefit to Arizona if the divorce rate’s lower? Doubt it.
Another way to look at is, these 15 states are just keeping people in misery longer.