Last week a bill that would make domestic violence legal grounds for divorce was killed in the Judiciary B Committee by the Chairman Andy Gipson.
Senate Bill 2703 died on the calendar but Gipson said they’re going to find another solution. He and attorney’s in the House are working on a solution that will be presented next week.
“We have looked at this issue for a few days and as I’ve mentioned in the articles I’ve written the law already clearly provides grounds for domestic abuse,” said Gipson.
He is referring to this article published on his Facebook page and at Y’all Politics:
In his analysis he said the current law uses the verbiage “cruel and inhumane treatment” for abusive relationships. But it doesn’t stop there.
“It can include making false accusations, constantly using sarcasm against your spouse, putting them in constant fear or an emotional state that is harming to their health. What we have is actually broader than domestic abuse,” said Gipson.
The law sent from the Senate only added the words “domestic abuse.”
When he refused to bring up the bill he said to the committee, “Divorce is a tragic event in the life of any couple. Sometimes it is necessary and/or unavoidable, and especially so in cases of domestic abuse. Victims of cruel and inhuman treatment should get out. But Mississippi doesn’t need another bill to say what the law already says.”
The Mississippi Supreme Court already made it possible for couples to get a divorce in the event of any verbal or physical abuse. Gipson said the problem isn’t the law itself, it’s the execution of it.
“The law is good, it is already addressing the issue. The problem is that we have judges across the state that I think on this issue are lacking uniformity on applying what the law already is on these pending divorce case that involve domestic abuse,” said Gipson.
In the unreleased solution they hope to help districts clear up the guidelines on how much evidence is necessary to prove domestic abuse and create a uniform way of handling each case under the Supreme Courts ruling.
