Marriage is supposed to be forever, and it often has a religious factor involved, which adds guilt if the marriage dissolves. Still, divorce is common. And the Christian Civic League still fights the idea of same-sex marriage.

There is no reason to monkey around with traditional marriage. There’s a place for it with all the religion and commitment trappings anyone wants. But consider a different marriage proposal: state-sanctioned, time-limited marriage, or TLM. You choose a time limit for the marriage, and at the end, the marriage expires. No divorce.

If desired, the marriage can be extended for how many years or until death. Implicit in TLM would be a prenuptial contract which would include common property. It could be a state-sanctioned blanket contract, or the couple could make up their own with legal help. When the marriage expires, the contract goes into effect unless the marriage is renewed.

If a child arrives, either through pregnancy within the partnership or through adoption, then the marriage automatically expires. Only the route of traditional marriage is then open to the couple. For couples with pre-existing families, either TLM or traditional marriage would be possible.

TLM allows guilt-free flexibility to marriage, and could include same-sex couples. It puts marriage more in the form of a contract, which is something that people understand. In evaluating this marriage proposal, just don’t forget to take into consideration the state of the marriage-divorce problem that we already face. I believe it would solve many problems, even though I like traditional marriage.

Philip C. Groce

Union