GRANDPARENTS RIGHTS are a matter for the States to determine. It is fair to ask; Why are their no Federal Laws governing GRANDPARENTS VISITATION RIGHTS? I have written in the past about the one attempt back in the early 80’s to look at GRANDPARENTS RIGHTS at the Federal Level. This will be installment 1 of an 8 part series of articles. The other parts will show up here in the days to come. I will then report on the conclusions of the subcommittee.
In the Fall of 1983 then Senator JOHN P. EAST, (R) North Carolina, chaired a subcommittee for the 98th Congress 1st Session on GRANDPARENTS VISITATION RIGHTS. The purpose of this committee was to investigate the many varying approaches of each state and determine if a consolidation and uniform approach at the Federal Level rose to the level to draft legislation.
Senator East in his brief opening remarks said, among other things that; “I would like to say that I think the subject matter is very important: The question of GRANDPARENTS’ VISITATION RIGHTS in the case of the broken home. I believe that GRANDPARENTS are among the greatest victims of the disintegration of the American nuclear family. Under the new morality, the divorce rate has approached nearly 50 percent at times.”
I would like to weigh in on this statement. It is my belief that, Yes, the grandparents are victims but the most profoundly impacted victims are the Grandchildren in cases where parents of troubled households use these helpless kids to wield power over the adults involved.
The process to create federal legislation is rigorous and very complicated. In this particular case this subcommittee was considered a Subcommittee on Separation of Powers. A starting point for this subcommittee was to put into the record the statement by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (ULC) Position on Grandparent’s Rights. They will show up again in the conclusion of this subcommittee.
The subcommittee takes a look at 6 over arching questions and takes testimony on each of these. That is what I will lay out in the coming days. As they say……Stay tuned. This is really fascinating and important stuff.
THANKS FOR BEING CARING GRANDPARENTS
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