Encourage cooperation

The Legislature is seeking ways to encourage people to stay married. One approach is to try to make the process of divorce more difficult. Suggestions under consideration include prolonging the required waiting period after the petition for divorce is filed and doing away with “no-fault” divorce.

As a professional divorce mediator, I work with people who’ve made the difficult choice to end a marriage. Most of the couples I work with haven’t made the decision lightly. For most, extending the waiting period would only prolong the uncertainty and chaos that’s part of divorce.

Taking away no-fault as grounds for divorce simply makes a bad situation worse. The proposal would require one side to prove that the other side was at fault. This would only increase litigation, animosity and bad feelings between the parties.

If lawmakers want to reduce the negative impact of divorce, they might look at ways of encouraging cooperation between couples through and after divorce. Tulsa and several other judicial districts in the state have successfully made mediation a mandatory step in the process of divorce.

Courts want couples to work out issues related to parenting, property division and alimony. Most people prefer to avoid handing over these decisions to a judge. Mediation also has major advantages over the high-risk “do-it-yourself ” divorce that often generates more problems than it solves. A professional mediator can guide individuals through a process that helps parents make the best decisions possible while dealing with a difficult situation. Send letters to yourviews@opubco.com or to Your Views, P.O. Box 25125, Oklahoma City, OK 73125. Word limit is 250. Include a postal address and telephone number. For other guidelines, go to www.newsok .com/voices/ guidelines or call (405) 475-3469. Stovall is director of mediation services at Cooperative Divorce Solutions in Oklahoma City.

NOT A GOOD BILL

Legislators should vote no on House Joint Resolution 1006, the so-called right to farm bill.

I’m not opposed to farming or modern practices, but this bill is intentionally vague and misleading. CAFOs and Big Agriculture shouldn’t get unreasonable blanket protection and perpetual get out of jail free cards not available to any other industry.

HJR 1006 would stop future legislators from responding to problems with food safety, animal welfare and the quality of water, air and land in Oklahoma before we even know what those problems are. This legislation is likely to prohibit the Legislature from passing laws that regulate puppy mills and horse slaughter, and existing laws, including Oklahoma's Commercial Pet Breeders Act. Former Gov. Frank Keating vetoed legislation that would have exempted CAFOs from following water quality law. He said, “They are not good neighbors.”

Legislators should vote against HJR 1006 and accept the challenge to regulate those who refuse to regulate themselves. HJR 1006 would let the people vote on a measure that “protects agriculture as an industry” and “guarantees farmers and ranchers the right to engage in modern practices.” It would prohibit the Legislature from passing laws “which abridge the rights of farmers.” The measure is pending in the state Senate.

AN OVERLARGE BUDGET

Instead of teachers and administrators rallying at the state Capitol, taxpayers should be rallying at the schools across Oklahoma. The major problem with school funding is the waste of currently appropriated funds. We have too many independent school districts that should be consolidated. In rural counties, we have an abundance of overpaid superintendents every few miles. Some of them are harder to find than the Malaysian Airlines Flight 370.

Schools are also wasting millions of dollars on school buses and related expenses. The Oklahoma Constitution doesn’t mandate that we furnish transportation to and from school. That’s the job of parents. I say we should make sure that current funding is used more efficiently or cut the current education budget. It’s already too large.