Red Meat

Publicity stunt or serious proposal? You decide; the proposed ballot initiative would amend Washington State law to automatically annul the marriages of anyone who has been married three years without children.

I can't see anything wrong with the proposal, except the following (and this is just the relevant excerpt):

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 26.04 RCW to read as follows:

(1) All couples married in this state shall have three years from the date of solemnization of the marriage, or eighteen months from the effective date of this act, whichever is later, to have filed with the state registrar of vital statistics or designated deputy registrar at least one certificate of marital procreation as described in section 11 of this act.

(2) Failure to comply with subsection (1) of this section shall result in the marriage being unrecognized as described in section 7 of this act, effective as of the midnight ending the time period described in subsection (1) of this section.

(3) A marriage that has become unrecognized pursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall remain unrecognized until the couple has complied with the requirements of subsection (1) of this section, or until the marriage is annulled in accordance with section 8 of this act, or until the marriage is dissolved for any other reason.

(4) The couple shall be subject to the penalties of section 7 (2) through (4) of this act for any marital benefits received during the time their marriage was unrecognized.

(5) Within fourteen days after the date described in subsection (1) of this section, the state registrar of vital statistics shall verify that at least one certificate of marital procreation has been filed for the married couple. In the absence of any such certificate, the registrar shall proceed in accordance with section 8 of this act.

Why would anyone want the state to micromanage marriages to the point of annulling those who have been married for three or more years but have not had children. If the couple has chosen not to have children out of economic, social, or other reasons, why is the government injecting itself into this issue.

To what end is this being proposed? Because the group behind the proposal isn't happy about a court decision that was handed down on same sex marriage:

The Washington Defense of Marriage Alliance seeks to defend equal marriage in this state by challenging the Washington Supreme Court’s ruling on Andersen v. King County. This decision, given in July 2006, declared that a “legitimate state interest” allows the Legislature to limit marriage to those couples able to have and raise children together. Because of this “legitimate state interest,” it is permissible to bar same-sex couples from legal marriage.

The way we are challenging Andersen is unusual: using the initiative, we are working to put the Court’s ruling into law. We will do this through three initiatives. The first would make procreation a requirement for legal marriage. The second would prohibit divorce or legal separation when there are children. The third would make the act of having a child together the legal equivalent of a marriage ceremony.

Absurd? Very. But there is a rational basis for this absurdity. By floating the initiatives, we hope to prompt discussion about the many misguided assumptions which make up the Andersen ruling.

You can be assured that this is going to attract quite a bit of interest.

UPDATE:
Bad cases make bad law. Bad ideas make bad initiatives.

Hypothetical time: What exactly would happen if this initiative actually passes? Would these proponents want to live with those consequences? Do they care? They may not agree with the Andersen case, but do they want to trash the very idea that they're trying to obtain in the first place - the idea of marriage?

Still, those are hypothetical questions since it appears unlikely that this proposal would not muster the necessary votes to get on the ballot.

Instapundit also notices. He thinks that its an amusing stunt. Others commenting: Boonman Tribune, The Modulator, Dvorak Uncensored, Blogs for Bush, and The London Fog.