This newsletter contains two items of interest.
Oregon Shared Parenting Bill Hearing
Just
in...Tomorrow the House Judiciary Committee will be hearing HB 3402 for
Shared Parenting in Oregon. The hearing is at the Oregon State Capitol
Room 357 beginning at noon. Please attend and show your support. The
proposed law defines joint legal and physical custody as presumptively
in the best interest of the child. The bill declares relocation not in
the child's best interest and penalizes parents for access
interference. Click here to read the bill.
Canadian Member of Parliament Conducts Equal Shared Parenting Poll
MP Maurice Vellacott sent this announcement late last week. Thanks to our friends and counterparts at the Canadian Equal Parenting Council for supplying the poll numbers. Click here for the poll. It's obvious the public 'gets it' when it comes to Shared Parenting. Our task is to turn these sentiments into reality.
Maurice Vellacott, MP
Saskatoon-Wanuskewin
Vellacott releases results of new
equal shared parenting poll
For Immediate Release April 16, 2009
OTTAWA Member
of Parliament Maurice Vellacott (Saskatoon-Wanuskewin) today announced
the results of a new poll on Equal Parenting after divorce.
"The
results indicate that four out of five Canadians (80 percent) continue
to support equal shared parenting after divorce with almost no
difference by gender, region, age group, or party affiliation," said
Maurice Vellacott. “This poll was commissioned in conjunction with the
work I've been doing to advance Equal Parenting through Private
Member's Motions and Bills,” Vellacott added.
The
results are nearly identical to a survey conducted in 2007, and are
part of a long term trend indicating continuing high levels of support
for equal parenting.
Conducted
by Nanos Research during March, 2009, the question asked survey
participants was: “Do you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat
oppose or strongly oppose federal and provincial legislation to create
a presumption of equal parenting in child custody cases?" The
statistical margin of accuracy is 3%, 19 times out of 20.
Last
year Vellacott tabled Private Members Motion M-483 on Equal Parenting
to gauge parliamentary support and received 17 Conservative and Liberal
seconders to his motion.
"The
response I received to this motion has encouraged me to proceed with
the poll and the drafting of a Private Member’s Bill in this session
with a view to garnering all-party support for Equal Parenting,
Vellacott said.
Poll
results indicate that supporters of all Parties in the House of Commons
are united in their support for Equal Parenting, ranging from a low of
76 percent for NDP voters to a high of 83 percent for the Bloc.
Recalling
the popular support for the 1998 “For the Sake of the Children” report,
Mr. Vellacott noted that there has historically been broad political
support across party lines. Canadians have long called for this; and
countries such as Australia, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, and many US
states have proceeded along these lines.
Mr.
Vellacott has been working with members of the extended divorce
community to develop amendments to the Divorce Act. "The divorce
community are the real experts in this field as they have first-hand
experience with the strengths and weaknesses of the current
legislation," he said. “The proposed amendments won’t solve all
problems, but they will certainly address a major point of contention
in divorce," he advised.
Equal
Parenting calls for continuation of parental rights, and obligations
with joint legal responsibility and joint physical custody, with the
presumption that equal parenting time is the best interest of the child.
30
You may recall last July Parade Magazine polled readers asking: "Should Divorced Dads Have Equal Time with Their Kids?" See the results here.
These and other examples demonstrate Shared Parenting is the next family law reform.
Sincerely,
Mike McCormick, Exec. Dir.
ACFC
Your
Washington DC based Shared Parenting and family law reform
organization. Please support these efforts with a contribution by clicking here.
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