Mississippi Divorce Laws Won't Include Compulsive Gambling

As some people may know, Mississippi has become a gambling hub in the South. In Tunica, Mississippi, once the poorest county in the nation, there are nine different casinos within probably a five-mile radius. 30 miles or so south, you have another casino on the Mississippi river, Isle of Capri. On the river, there are also several casinos in Greenville and Vicksburg. On the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, there are another eleven or so, and then in Philadelphia, Mississippi, there is Pearl River Resort, which has two separate casinos. Needless to say, gambling in Mississippi attracts a lot of people, both local and out-of-state.

Recently, the Mississippi the state legislature in Jackson took up the question of whether compulsive gambling by one spouse could be used as a justifiable reason for divorce. According to "The Oxford Eagle" newspaper, the idea was introduced to revise the current 12 legal reasons now on the books to include compulsive gambling. Although this was shot down pretty quickly by a 74 to 40 member vote, I think there are some interesting points about all this.

First of all, as the old joke goes, I've never thought about divorce, but murder crossed my mind a couple of times. I found interesting the actual legitimate points listed in the article that can be used for a case of divorce in Mississippi. According to the article, they are as follows:

Natural Impotency: I'm going to assume this applies more to men than women, but a good case in point might be where every time the husband looks at his wife, he gets sort of sickly and uninterested. I would think it might be hard for a lot of men to contest that divorce argument.

Adultery: I say good riddance to bad rubbish and pass on your divorce attorney's name to the future Mrs.

Being Sentenced to Prison: We may be from the South, but we're not all those "Stand By Your Man" or woman as the case may be.

Willful Desertion for a Year: I guess this sort of goes along with the prison problem.

Habitual Drunkenness: I have to wonder if they have a measuring stick for this one. It must be a pretty high number from what I've seen.

Excessive Use of Drugs Such as Opium: Here again, what's excessive? I would think hanging around the meth lab might qualify. In my book, any drug use would be considered excessive.

Cruel and Inhuman Treatment: If he or she treats the dog better than you, then you might want to think about this one.

"Insanity or Idiocy" at the Time of the Marriage if One Person Did Not Know About the Other's Condition: Excuse me? I thought that's what dating is all about. Seems to be you might want to pick up on that idiocy thing.

Marriage to Another Person at the Same Time: It would seem to me that if one person is already married, they would be hard-pressed to be married to another person. By the way, isn't there something called bigamy?

Pregnancy of the Wife by Another Person at the Time of the Marriage if the Husband Did Not Know of the Pregnancy: Now, I can understand this, but I would think it might also be true if the man were having a baby with someone else during that time. I mean, come on, I thought we're a non-discriminating country.

Finding Out The Husband and Wife are Close Relatives: Here's a clue to help you figure this one out. If you're giving a ride to some family members to the reunion, don't marry them. And if you have the same last name, check it out.

Incurable Insanity: I'm not sure what kind of insanity can be cured and which cannot, but I would think to be on the side of caution, I'd assume it's incurable. After all, I figure that's what he or she would probably say at the murder trial anyway. And who knows, they might have been sane before they married their spouse, since I know the hubby is always telling me I'm driving him crazy.

Source:

"The Oxford Eagle" Newspaper