Louisiana's Covenant Marriage Law: A First Step toward a More Robust Pluralism in Marriage and Divorce Law
![handle is hein.journals/emlj47 and id is 939 raw text is: COMMENTS
LOUISIANA'S COVENANT MARRIAGE LAW: A FIRST STEP
TOWARD A MORE ROBUST PLURALISM IN MARRIAGE
AND DIVORCE LAW?
We do solemnly declare that marriage is a covenant between a man
and a woman who agree to live together as husband and wife for so
long as they both may live.... We have received premarital coun-
seling... [and] we commit ourselves to take all reasonable efforts to
preserve our marriage, including marital counseling.
With fall knowledge of what this commitment means, we do hereby
declare that our marriage will be bound by Louisiana law on Cove-
nant Marriages and we promise to love, honor, and care for one an-
other as husband and wife for the rest of our lives.1
On August 15, 1997, Louisiana put in place the nation's first Covenant
Marriage statute, which creates a two-tiered system of marriage.2 Couples
may choose a traditional marriage contract, with minimal formalities of forma-
tion and dissolution. Or couples may choose a covenant marriage, which im-
poses heightened requirements for both entrance and prospective exit from the
marriage. Proponents of the Covenant Marriage Law specifically intend for it to
strengthen the family by turning from a culture of divorce to a culture of
marriage.3 While it is too early to predict the lasting effects of the bill, early
signs indicate that it will be influential. In Louisiana, churches are beginning to
t This Comment received the 1998 Myron Penn Laughlin Award for excellence in legal research and
writing and for the best Comment by a Candidate for the Board of the Emory Law Journal.
1 Declaration of Intent to enter a Louisiana Covenant Marriage. See infra Appendix B.
2 1997 La. Acts 1380. (House Bill No. 756 (Act 1380 (1997)), amending and reenacting Louisiana Civil
Code Articles 102 and 103 and R.S. 9:234 and 245(A)(1) and to enact R.S. 9:224(c) and 225(A)(3), Part VII of
Chapter 1 of Code Title IV of Code Book I of Title 9 ofthe Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, comprised of
R.S. 9:272 through 275, and R.S. 9:307,308, and 309).
3 Audio tape of Tony Perkins, Louisiana State Representative, Hearings before Senate Committee on
Judiciary A (June 10, 1997) (on file with author) [Senate Hearings]. See also Audio tape of Tony Perkins,
Louisiana State Representative, Hearings before House Civil Law and Procedure Committee (May 6, 1997) (on
file with author) (saying the intent of bill is to strengthen the family unit) [House Hearings]; Interview with
Rep. Tony Perldns, Louisiana State Representative, The Today Show, (NBC television broadcast, Aug. 15,
1997) (transcript available at <http://207. 68.146.11/newsllO23I4.asp> (visited Jan. 16, 1998)) ('[This law is]
not about strictly making divorce more difficult, but it's about making marriage more successful.).](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/emlj47&div=29&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Louisiana's Covenant Marriage Law: A First Step toward a More Robust Pluralism in Marriage and Divorce Law
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