Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Kotz / Law and Order / Legislature / Politics Women Will Protest Mandatory Joint Custody Bill Today
Posted by Pete Kotz on Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 5:20 AM
Groups ranging from the state Bar Association to Focus on the Family are expected to weigh in on the matter. Though it would seem a rather egalitarian issue, it would take away a judge's discretion and likely harm children in the long run. Psychologists believe that in the most contested feuds, it's better to give custody to one parent instead of creating a joint arrangement where the kid is used as a proxy in the ongoing war. It's also seen as problematic to mothers who've experienced domestic abuse, since they'd have to endure a court fight to prove the father unworthy.
But here's all you really need to know: Stacey Campfield is a sponsor. When a noted slumlord, perv, and guy who likes to pick on pregnant ladies is on your side, it can't be good for Tennessee.
Comments (1)
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I've heard all the arguments opposed to mandatory joint custody, and I still can't wrap my head around it. I'm divorced and from the time she was 2, my daughter has spent one week at her dad's and one week at my house. It might sound disruptive to some, but neither of us were the "primary" parent before the divorce -- we both shared parenting responsibilities equally. It would have been incredibly unfair to my daughter, not to mention her dad, to make her live with me most of the time.
Which is EXACTLY what a judge tried to make us do. My ex and I both agreed she should split her time equally between us, and agreed on everything else, in fact, and a judge threw our divorce out and instructed us to write a parenting plan that had my daughter at my house the majority of the time.
What the hell kind of crazy world is that?
We finally got our divorce approved with the parenting plan that worked for our family, but it took a lot of work [and a new judge who trusted us, instead of made assumptions about the kind of parenting a father could do, despite all evidence to the contrary].
I KNOW there are cases of domestic abuse, etc. where one parent should be the predominant, or only, custodial parent. But I don't understand why we can effectively throw presumption of innocence out the window here. That's what we're talking about -- presuming that a parent is unfit without having to meet a standard of proof.
I have a hard time agreeing with Campfield myself, but I think this is a pretty good bill.
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