Community Corner

POLL: Should Couples Be Required to Take an Education Course Before Getting Married?

A ballot measure in Colorado would require 10 hours of pre-wedding marriage education for first marriages, 20 hours for second marriages and 30 hours for third marriages. No classes would be required for civil unions.

By Kristi Reed 

A proposed ballot measure in Colorado targeted at reducing divorce rates would make getting married a bit more complicated, the Denver Post reports.

The "Colorado Marriage Education Act" would require couples getting married for the first time to complete 10 hours of pre-wedding marriage education. Those heading down the aisle a second time would have to go through a 20-hour course. Couples trying for a third time would be required to complete 30 hours of marriage education. Civil unions would not be affected and widows would be treated as first-timers and only required to complete a 10-hour education session.

Proponents of the measure claim the act would better prepare individuals for marriage and protect children who would be negatively impacted by divorce. In order to get the measure on the November ballot, proponents will have to convince more than 86,000 people to sign a petition.

"This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard," Alyx Reese-Giles, who was married for the third time in November, told the Denver Post. "The government has no business deciding what education people should or should not get before entering into marriage. Marriage is about communication and being ready to commit, and no class is going to teach you that."

Reese-Giles said her last marriage ended after one month and 25 days despite six months of pre-marital counseling.

Do you think mandatory pre-marital counseling is a good idea? Would you support a ballot measure to require marital education? Let us know in the comments or vote in our poll


Note: 
This is not a scientific poll. It is for entertainment purposes only.


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