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Many
of you emailed me
to ask why the bar
associations, the
legal aid agencies,
Jane Doe and others
oppose shared parenting
legislation. So
I will give you
a summary of their
arguments. |
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There
is a great deal
of overlap in the
reasons given by
the various opponents.
In the interest
of brevity, I will
not state our opposing
arguments. |
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First
and foremost, they
point to domestic
violence, and claim
that shared parenting
legislation will
force battered women
into continuing,
close contact with
a dangerous ex-partner.
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Closely
related to this
is the claim that
most people are
settling their custody
cases amicably,
and only the high
conflict cases end
up disputing custody.
Therefore, the main
effect of a shared
parenting law would
be to force high-conflict
couples to do shared
parenting, and it
is well known that
exposure to high
conflict is bad
for children. |
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Another
closely related
argument is that
shared parenting
will allow fathers
to use the children
as tools for exercising
power and control
over their ex- partner.
Opponents also state
that batterers abuse
kids as well as
their partners.
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One
witness claimed
that several states
who previously enacted
joint physical custody
subsequently changed
the law back because
it wasn't working. |
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Some
opponents simply
claim that joint
custody legislation
is all about the
rights of parents,
and has nothing
to do with what
is best for children,
or what children
actually want. |
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Opponents
also claim that
instituting joint
physical custody
legislation will
supplant the longstanding
"best interest
of the child"
standard. |
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Opponents
characterize our legislation
as "forced"
or "mandatory"
joint custody. |
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Opponents
claim that our legislation
demands a rigid
50/50 requirement
regardless of practical
circumstances. |
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Opponents
paint the sad picture
of "suitcase
kids," dragging
back and forth,
always discovering
that the school
book they need or
their skates are
at the other house.
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Some
of these objections
may have merit,
and deserve close
inspection. Others
simply misrepresent
our bill, are contradicted
by the research
evidence, or are
correct, but outweighed
by the advantages
of shared parenting.
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Don't
feel helpless and
outraged - in our
testimony and our
one-on-one meetings
with legislators,
we have persistently
debunked the myths.
And we are ready
to work with our
opponents to improve
our bill where their
concerns have merit. |
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