Reality of Bad Marriages

Washington Post Loudoun Extra
October 7, 2004

Contrary to the statement of the Rev. Jack Stagman of the Loudoun Church Alliance [“Religious Groups Nurturing Marriage,” Metro, Sept. 28], equality for same-sex couples was very much an issue at the Healthy Marriage Initiative Summit — but not because we brought it up. In fact, one of the speakers was an activist who traveled from Washington state to promote an anti-marriage equality rally on the Mall.

My question for Marriage Savers, however, had nothing to do with this issue. The emphasis on “preventing bad marriages before they happen” by the use of intensive premarital counseling and inventories shows that Marriage Savers recognizes that there are marriages that should never have taken place. Its protocol for couples who are already married, however, rejects that possibility, insisting that these “bad marriages” must be saved, and I questioned the lack of internal consistency this suggested.

My partner and I attended the summit because we wholeheartedly support the goal of strengthening marriages and families. In our view, healthy marriages are more likely when people are free to marry the person of one’s choice.

David Weintraub
Lovettsville