Up in Space / Love Insurance/ Utah Legislation/ Frederick Maryland - 2/9/07

[Smartmarriages]

- GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SPACE: INSIGHT ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
- LOVE INSURANCE 
- MARRIAGE WEEK IN UTAH
- MARRIAGE WEEK IN FREDERICK, MARYLAND
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- GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SPACE: INSIGHT ON THE LIGHTER SIDE

The infidelity experts have been in demand this week for interviews on the
sad astronaut love-quadrangle story. In talking with one of them, I said it
made me think about the Shirley Glass warning sign. She said: now that more
women were in the work force we should put signs up outside office buildings
that read: "Danger, Men and Women Working". More infidelity happens in the
workplace than anywhere else and, think about it, I said, these astronauts
are sent away from their families for long intense training and quarantines
and then sent off in a space ship ­ all that proximity and intensity, you
can see how they'd fall in love. To which the male to whom I was talking
said, "Yeah, and who could resist seeing what sex is like in outer space -
Weightlessness!!"  Which made me realize how different the genders really
are. I'd be thinking about how to get back safely to earth.  NOT NOW, honey!
Vive la difference. - diane

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- LOVE INSURANCE 

MANY of you sent your 2¢ on the idea of "marriage insurance" saying that the
only proven love/marriage insurance is marriage education.  Not that list
members are biased.....  And, quite a few, like this one, suggested lower
premiums for those that take classes.  And, then there are the legislators
that realize the absolute value of Marriage Education Insurance (below from
Utah) and are trying to provide state incentives for Marriage Education as
is already law in Minnesota, Florida, Tennessee, Oklahoma, etc...   - diane

> Hmmmm, 
> I like the idea of marriage insurance with rewards going to long-term
> marriages...So how about lower premiums for those who take marriage education
> classes? 
> Vernetta Mickey
> divorcebusting coach

> Diane,
> Reading the post on marriage insurance reminded me of Abbott & Costello's
> first movie, One Night In The Tropics (1940). One man, an insurance agent,
> writes up a policy for "love insurance" for his friend, who is scheduled to be
> married. Although humorous at that time, it may be more needed than ever.
> Eric Foraker, MFT

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- MARRIAGE WEEK IN UTAH
Marriage Preparation Education Bill Proposed for Third Year in Utah
KCPW News
Feb 08, 2007 by Lara Jones

Pilot Program Would Reduce Marriage License Fee
If you take eight hours of marriage preparation education, the marriage
license you need to walk down the aisle may cost you less - that's if a bill
being sponsored by Rep. Roz McGee becomes law. The DEMOCRAT from Salt Lake
City's East Bench says the state loses when marriages fail:

"It plays out in costs of family disruption, it plays out in the state being
involved in collecting child support and in providing TANF benefits for
disrupted families."

Not to mention the huge cost of custody disputes that end up in court, says
McGee, who sees pre-marital counseling as a way to lower the divorce rate.
Her bill is based on similar legislation in Minnesota developed by Dr.
William Doherty, a licensed marriage and family therapist:

"About 38 percent of couples marrying in Minnesota now take advantage of
this waiver that we have of the state marriage license fee," he says. "We
don't have long-term studies yet; this has just been in effect for a little
while. What we do know from other research, though, is that good pre-marital
education prepares people to handle their conflicts better."

Doherty will give a keynote address at Saturday's 15th Annual Celebration of
Marriage at the Salt Palace.

This is the third year McGee has tried to pass a marriage preparation
education bill. If successful, a pilot program would be supervised by the
Department of Workforce Services.

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- MARRIAGE WEEK IN FREDERICK, MARYLAND

Group celebrates marriage Sunday
Gazette
Feb 8, 2007 
by Sherry Greenfield | Staff Writer

Frederick County Commission President Jan H. Gardner has been married to her
husband, John, for 23 years.

Gardner (D) credits John with endless patience and understanding as she
juggles her role on the Frederick Board of County Commissioners and the
Maryland Association of Counties (MACo), a nonprofit organization that
advocates for county issues on the state level.

Many marriages in Frederick County and across the state and country do not
last as long as Gardner¹s. In fact, according to the Rev. Robert J. Donk,
executive director of Marriage Savers of Frederick County, 859 divorces were
granted in the county last year.

To celebrate the sanctity of marriage, the organization, along with Gardner
and the other county commissioners, has proclaimed Sunday as ŒŒCommunity
Marriage Day² throughout the county.

As board president, Gardner said she supports the proclamation and efforts
of the group.

ŒŒI met with Rev. Donk and I am in support of marriage,² Gardner said, ŒŒbut
I¹m not critical of someone whose marriage has failed.²

The proclamation states that marriage has throughout history provided
stability to communities and provided a ŒŒhealthy emotional environment for
children,² by lowering the rates of poverty, teenage pregnancy, school
dropouts, delinquency and substance abuse.

Roughly 275 religious congregations in the county are also marking the
proclamation Sunday, Donk said.

Activities include special ŒŒSweetheart Banquets² and marriage receptions
with wedding cake provided for all married couples. Congregations will also
recognize the longest married couples with flowers and gifts.

Based out of Walkersville, Marriage Savers seeks to reduce the divorce rate
in the county by 30 percent in the next three years.

ŒŒThe group is concerned that not enough things are being done to keep
couples from getting a divorce,² Donk said in an interview with The Gazette.
ŒŒ...It¹s a sad situation.²

Marriage Savers has established a Web site ‹ www.marriagesaversfrederick.org
‹ that provides information, resources, training and help to strengthen
marriages.

ŒŒ... We desperately need to improve the way we prepare couples for
marriage, enrich every current marriage, improve our ability to reconcile
marriages in difficulty, restore separated couples and provide support group
assistance for couples in second marriages,² Donk said in a press release.
ŒŒUnless we recognize what we are doing to our families, our children and
our future and seek the help that is available, we can have no hope for a
brighter future for family life here in our county.²

Donk, who is not affiliated with any specific church, insists the group¹s
mission is not to promote marriage solely between a man and a woman.

ŒŒThis has absolutely nothing to do with that,² Donk said.

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