Sacramento Satirist Files Initiative to Ban Divorce in California as "Logical Extension of Prop 8"

A married father of two in Sacramento has begun the process of submitting a 2010 initiative to ban divorce in California.

John Marcotte, 37 and a satirist, calls the proposition "California Marriage Protection Act" and claims he has a grassroot volunteers standing by to gather signatures once the language is approved by the Attorney General.

"It's actually what I think is a logical extension of Prop 8, which was the California Marriage Protection Act. (My initiative) would protect traditional marriages by banning divorce," he explained to KXTV/News10.

The campaign's web site, RescueMarriage.org shows a couple held together by a chain with the caption "You said 'till death do us part. You're not dead yet."

Cockeyed had an exclusive interview with Marcotte.

Rob Cockerham: John Marcotte. You've filed a petition with the Secretary of State, in an effort to get a voter's initative on the California 2010 ballot.

John Marcotte: Yes. Filed the paperwork on September 1. It's the "2010 California Marriage Protection Act." I am trying to ban divorce in the state of California.

RC: Ok. So your act, if it became law, would make marriage undissolvable.

John: Exactly. The only exception would be if the marriage was "voidable" -- if you married an 8-year-old, you don't get to keep her. She goes back on the shelf. You can't marry the mentally incapacitated, etc.

RC: Ah, ok, so most normal marriages would be irreversable.

John: 99.99% of all marriages would be set in stone. It's a return to traditional values.

RC: Wow, that is amazing. Could it really happen? What steps remain to make this initiative into a valid, enforced law?

John: I am trying to extend the good work done with Proposition 8 last year. It could really happen. The United States has not always had divorce as an institution the way we do now. As a ballot initiative it bypasses the legislature and the governor. It's the will of the people made law.

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RC: Are you going to hit the streets collecting signatures for the initiative?

John: We're going to set up a table in front of Wal*Mart and ask people to sign a petition to protect traditional marriage. We're going to interview them about why they thing traditional marriage is important, and then we'll tell them that we are trying to ban divorce.

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.

We're also going to collect signatures in front of "Faces," the largest gay nightclub in Sacramento.

Image by Cockeyed.