FLORIDA: Mother & Toddler Go Into Hiding Over Child's Court-Ordered Circumcision

From the West Palm Beach ABC affiliate:

A judge has ordered the arrest of a local mother who has refused a court order to have her son circumcised. Heather Hironimus was supposed to turn over her 4-year-old son Chase and appear before a judge by 2 p.m. Tuesday. When Hironimus was a no-show, the judge signed a writ of bodily attachment which allows law enforcement to find and bring her to court. Hiroimus's attorney said Tuesday that Chase was "terrified" to undergo the procedure and Hironimus checked into an undisclosed domestic violence crisis shelter to protect him. Due to privacy laws, attorneys did not have to disclose the location of the shelter to the judge or law enforcement. Last month, when Chase's father won a drawn-out legal battle to have his son circumcised, Hironimus went into hiding with her son.

(Tipped by JMG reader DM)

Today In GOP Crackpottery

Think Progress reports that Massachusetts GOP state Sen. Richard Ross is pushing a bill that would require the permission of a judge before somebody getting a divorce can bring a date home or have sex in their own home with someone besides their soon-to-be ex. But only if there are kids in the house! Here's the text of the bill:

In divorce, separation, or 209A proceedings involving children and a marital home, the party remaining in the home shall not conduct a dating or sexual relationship within the home until a divorce is final and all financial and custody issues are resolved, unless the express permission is granted by the courts.

In other words, if your spouse splits and leaves you with the kids, you better hire a babysitter because you'll have to take your lovin' on the road. Ross' bill was first introduced last year and yesterday it got an extension for consideration until June 30th. The bill does not stipulate what the penalty would be for permissionless at-home hook-ups. Perhaps fittingly, Ross is a mortician.

UPDATE: Think Progress has updated their post.

Ross’ staff told ThinkProgress that the senator is “not in support” of the bill. It was filed on behalf of a constituent, Robert LeClair, as a courtesy to him. Massachusetts law allows legislators to put forth a citizen’s piece of legislation, as Ross did in this case, though there is no requirement that they do so.

Is that supposed to make it OK?

STUDY: Divorce Rate Of Evangelicals Higher Than General Population

According to a study to be published in the American Journal Of Sociology, "religiously conservative Protestants" divorce at a higher rate than the general population.

Researchers discovered that higher divorce rates among conservative Protestants were tied to earlier marriages and childbearing – factors known to ramp up divorce. Starting families earlier tends to stop young adults from pursuing more education and depresses their wages, putting more strain on marriages, University of Texas at Austin professor Jennifer Glass said. But the study went a step further: Glass and another researcher also discovered that people living in areas with lots of conservative Protestants were at higher risk of getting divorced, even if they weren’t conservative Protestants themselves. County by county, for every 1% increase in the share of conservative Protestants compared with mainline Protestants, the divorce rate increased 0.02%, the study found. Glass argued that community institutions in such areas might encourage early marriage, affecting divorce rates for everyone who lives there.

Save that bolded sentence for the next time you get told that you are destroying traditional marriage. (Tipped by JMG reader Str8 Grandmother)

TEXAS: Judge Rules That Divorced Woman Can't Cohabitate With Female Partner

Citing a morals clause in the woman's divorce decree, a Texas judge has ruled that she cannot live with her new female partner and still retain custody of her children. 

The clause is common in divorce cases in Texas and other states. It prevents a divorced parent from having a romantic partner spend the night while children are in the home. If the couple marries, they can get out from under the legal provision — but that is not an option for gay couples in Texas, where such marriages aren't recognized. The Dallas Morning News reported that in a divorce hearing last month for Carolyn and Joshua Compton, Collin County District Judge John Roach Jr. enforced the terms detailed in their 2011 divorce papers. He ordered Carolyn Compton's partner, Page Price, to move out of the home they shared with the Comptons' two daughters, ages 10 and 13. The judge gave Price 30 days to find another place to live.

After the ruling the ex-husband's lawyer said, "The fact that they can't get married in Texas is a legislative issue. It's not really our issue." Carolyn Compton says that she and her partner will obey the ruling even though they believe it to be unconstitutional. They are considering an appeal.

Noah St. John On His Two Moms

Clip description:

"After exploding onto the performance scene by grabbing the Youth Speaks Grand Slam Champion prize, watch as 15-year-old Noah St. John electrifies the Snap Judgment Stage with a stunning performance - winning this year's NPR Snap Judgment Performance of the Year."

Get a tissue. Get two.

(Via Towleroad)

Headline Of The Day

No sex until marriage! One man, one woman, FOR LIFE! Details. (Tipped by JMG reader David)

And Here's Gloria Allred's Surprise

From TMZ:

Mitt Romney LIED under oath when he testified in the divorce of his good friend and screwed the friend's wife out of a lot of money in the process ... so claims the ex-wife of Staples' founder Tom Stemberg. Multiple sources connected with the divorce tell TMZ ... during Tom's uber nasty divorce case with ex-wife Maureen, Mitt Romney gave a deposition and testified during the trial that Staples was worth virtually nothing. Romney testified that the company was worth very little and Tom was a dreamer and "the dream continues." Romney characterized the Staples stock as "overvalued," adding, "I didn't place a great deal of credibility in the forecast of the company's future."Partly as a result of Romney's testimony, Maureen got relatively little in the divorce, but we're told just weeks after the divorce ended, Romney and Tom went to Goldman Sachs and cashed in THEIR stock for a fortune. Short story -- Romney allegedly lied to help his friend and screw the friend's wife over.

Do you think this will have any legs? Romney's lawyer tells TIME: "This is a decades-old divorce case in which Mitt Romney provided testimony as to the value of a company. He has no objection to letting the public see that testimony."

Manhunt Wants Tom

You May Commence Gossiping

Details.

AL Senate Advances Divorce Bill

A so-called "covenant marriage" bill that restricts the ability to divorce in some cases has advanced out of an Alabama state senate committee.

Sen. Phil Williams, R-Rainbow City, said his bill to create a covenant marriage is designed to decrease Alabama's high divorce rate. Alabama is often ranked near the top in the nation when it comes to divorce. "To me, that's a disturbing trend," Williams said. The bill states for a couple to enter into a covenant marriage they must provide an affidavit stating they've received premarital counseling from a religious leader or a marriage counselor. That counseling must include a discussion of the obligation to seek more counseling in times of marital difficulties and a discussion of the exclusive grounds for terminating a covenant marriage. A spouse could ask a judge to grant a divorce without first seeking counseling if there is proof the other spouse had committed adultery, abused the filing spouse or their children, committed a felony or had left the family home for more than a year and refused to return. Otherwise, counseling is a mandatory step in the process.

Former Pro Wrestler Hulk Hogan Sues Ex-Wife Over Gay Affair Claims

Former pro wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan is suing his ex-wife for telling interviewers that he had a long-term gay relationship with fellow wrestler Brutus Beefcake.

"After the four-year crazy divorce I thought I'd heard everything I could hear in the courtroom," he told Us Weekly, laughing. "Then, all of a sudden she says I abused her, that I was violent. She told everybody that I was a homosexual." (Linda leveled her claims in both a shocking memoir and interviews promoting the book.) Clarified Hogan about Linda's charge that he had a sexual relationship with fellow wrestler Brutus Beefcake: "If any of that was true, I would admit it, and I was a homosexual I would embrace it. It's just so crazy to hear, so I have a real problem with it....If you're going to say I'm something that I'm not to try to ruin my career and my livelihood....I have to answer her back."

Hogan's ex-wife won 70% of the couple's assets several years ago in a highly-publicized divorce settlement.

Bishop Eddie Long Quits

Atlanta's Bishop Eddie Long and his hilarious wig are "taking a little time off" from the 25,000-member prosperity gospel megachurch he founded. With his wife's recent divorce filing, Long will have to console himself with his enormous mansion, his Bentley, and his private jet. Well, that and all those hot boys.

Lease With Option To Buy

Mexico City is considering offering temporary marriage licenses. If things aren't working out after the agreed upon trial period, you just walk away.

Leftists in the city's assembly — who have already riled conservatives by legalizing gay marriage — proposed a reform to the civil code this week that would allow couples to decide on the length of their commitment, opting out of a lifetime. The minimum marriage contract would be for two years and could be renewed if the couple stays happy. The contracts would include provisions on how children and property would be handled if the couple splits. "The proposal is, when the two-year period is up, if the relationship is not stable or harmonious, the contract simply ends," said Leonel Luna, the Mexico City assemblyman who co-authored the bill.

Even though the plan would reduce the number of divorces, the Catholic Church is furious at the mere thought of not being shackled to another person for eternity. Of course!

Thrice Married Serial Adulterer Finds Gay Marriage To Be As Temporary As His Ability To Not Fuck Women Who Aren't His Wife

"I think this [gay marriage] is a temporary aberration that will dissipate. I think that it is just fundamentally goes against everything we know." - Newt Gingrich, who would like remind you that marriage is between one man and one woman whom you abandon riddled with cancer on her hospital bed while you fuck the shit out of your next wife whom you later cheat on while screaming with Godly moral outrage about the infidelities of the president.

Truth In Divorce Advertising

"You're on your way to getting rid of that vermin you call a spouse! Divorce EZ! A Florida company!"

Divorce Ban Pranksters To Start Collecting Signatures For 2010 CA Ballot

Last September I told you about Rescue Marriage, the prankster group that claims to want to ban divorce in California. Yesterday the state granted permission for the group to begin gathering the required 694K signatures to place the issue on the 2010 ballot.

Rescue Marriage founder (and straight ally) John Marcotte said last year, "People who supported Prop 8 weren't trying to take rights away from gays, they just wanted to protect traditional marriage. That's why I'm confident that they will support this initiative, even though this time it will be their rights that are diminished. To not support it would be hypocritical."

Al And Tipper Gore Separate

Former Vice President Al Gore is separating from his wife Tipper after 40 years of marriage.

"This is very much a mutual and mutually supportive decision that we have made together following a process of long and careful consideration," the couple said in an e-mail obtained by Politico. "We ask for respect for our privacy and that of our family, and we do not intend to comment further." The news is being greeted with shock in Washington, D.C. Few political couples seemed as close as the Gores back during his vice presidential years, 1993 to 2001.

This IS a surprise.

Benny Hinn Fails To Heal His Marriage

Prosperity gospel televangelist and "faith healing" scam artist Benny Hinn was unable to heal the desire of his wife to get the fuck away from him.

The wife of televangelist has filed for divorce from the high-profile pastor, whose reputation as an advocate of prosperity gospel has attracted millions of followers and criticism from lawmakers and watchdog groups over his lavish lifestyle. Suzanne Hinn filed the papers in Orange County Superior Court on Feb. 1, citing irreconcilable differences, after more than 30 years of marriage. The papers note the two separated on Jan. 26 and that Hinn has been living in Dana Point, a wealthy coastal community in southern Orange County. "Pastor Benny Hinn and his immediate family were shocked and saddened to learn of this news without any previous notice," Benny Hinn Ministries said Thursday in a statement. "Although Pastor Hinn has faithfully endeavored to bring healing to their relationship, those efforts failed and were met with the petition for divorce that was filed without notice." Hinn is one of the best known advocates of the prosperity gospel, which teaches that Christians who are right with God will be rewarded with wealth and health in this lifetime.

Hinn is presently under investigation by Congress for violating non-profit rules. He travels in his private zillion dollar jet named "Dove One" and is said to own more than a dozen luxury mansions around the world. And every day in every city, some elderly pensioner eats cat food in order to send Benny Hinn a donation.

VIDEO: Watch Benny Hinn slay thousands in the Holy Spirit. Most of the people on stage are paid accomplices, of course. Others have to pretend that they are really being "slain," less their Jeebus cred be damaged. Glory! Praise His Name! Send more money and buy your way into Heaven!

Divorce Rises In States With Same-Sex Marriage Ban

Stats guru Nate Silver has crunched the numbers and reports that states with bans on same-sex marriage have a higher rate of divorce. In Massachusetts, the divorce rate has plunged over 20% in the five years since same-sex marriage became legal there. States with a constitutional ban have seen an overall increase in divorce.

It would be fantastic to get Nate Silver into the witness chair at Perry vs. Schwarzenegger, wouldn't it?

Sally Kern Tries To Ban Divorce

OK state Rep. Sally Kern must be among the wingnuts who don't realize that the attempt to ban divorce in California is a hoax, because now she's trying the same thing in Oklahoma.

Scheduled for introduction in the 2010 legislative session by state Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, House Bill 2279 would restrict the "use of incompatibility as a ground for divorce" in Oklahoma.The bill would not allow for divorce on the basis of incompatibility if:

• There are living minor children of the marriage
• The parties have been married 10 years or longer
• Either party files a written objection to the granting of a divorce

If passed, the act would become effective on Nov. 1.

Miss Sally, who hasn't brought a loaded gun in the state house in months, was long overdue for something like this.