Date: Sat, 16 Aug 1997 01:57:25 -0400

From: "Barry A. Popik" Bapopik[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]AOL.COM

Subject: "Covenant Marriages" in today's Wash. Post



COVENANT MARRIAGES



This has been a slow year for new words and phrases, but add "covenant

marriages."

This is from the Washington Post, 15 August 1997, pg. 1, cols. 1-2, also

pg. A18 Cols. 1-6 and pg. A19 cols. 1-2:



"Covenant Marriages"

Ties the Knot Tightly



Louisiana Begins Experiment in Commitment



By Jon Jeter



(...) As America grows increasingly preoccupied with the nation's high

divorce rate and the troubled children it often produces, communities across

the country are searching for solutions. Louisiana officials think they have

the answer--a novel experiment called 'covenant marriage" that lawmakers hope

will make wedding vows more meaningful and divorce more difficult.

Beginning today, Louisiana will require couples to choose between two

marital contracts, traditional or covenant, before tying the knot.

Supporters of the new law contend that the mere offer by the state of a

covenant marriage is tantamount to throwing a gauntlet at the couple's feet.

They will have no obligation to pick it up, but the decision whether or not

to do so should produce some intensified soul searching and serious

discussions about commitment and compatability that could help families avoid

breakups down the road.



(This story is copyrighted, but the Washington Post is on the web.)



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