How a Lompoc shooting prompted statewide divorce reform for domestic violence victims

Depending on which state you’re in, the gap between filing for divorce and becoming divorced can be as short as a day or as long as almost two years. While states like Arkansas enforce an 18-month separation trial between the day someone files and the day their divorce can move forward, Nevada residents aren’t subject to waiting any mandatory length, as long as one half of the couple can prove they’ve lived there for at least six weeks. Between these extremes, California’s rule was somewhere in the middle—with a six-month waiting period—until a former Lompoc resident contacted her elected state representative about pursuing policy reform. “Domestic violence … almost took my life a couple years ago,” said Laura Piña, who was hospitalized for about a month in 2024 after being shot, within less than three weeks of filing divorce papers.

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