TX HB 803 Equal Parenting will Decrease Domestic Violence
Also Equal Parenting will unclog family courts focus on victims domestic violence and sexual assault
Texas HB 803 Equal Parenting bill will decrease Domestic Violence, just as is has proven to have done in Kentucky, and it will unclog family court to be able to focus on victims and situations involving domestic violence and sexual assault.
First of all, under Texas HB 803 Equal Parenting bill, people who have committed domestic violence or sexual assault will not get an equal custody starting point. HB 803 equal parenting only applies to parents who are determined to be joint managing conservators by the judge. A court has an obligation to not grant a parent with joint managing conservator if there has been domestic violence or sexual assault. So, HB 803 would not allow abusers to get equal custody starting point as they would not be determined fit to be a joint managing conservator.
I have previously written how Equal Parenting is unilaterally agreed by all research and facts in the medical and scientific community to be best for kids. I have written about the detrimental effects and harm that unequal parenting and especially fatherlessness does to children and society. I have even written about how equal parenting is supported by moms and women and can lead to better equality for women. Well, if that was not enough to get this bill passed, the facts are coming out to show that Equal Parenting laws are actually causing a decrease in domestic violence and helping victims of domestic violence and sexual assault get better heard and prioritized in family court cases.
Equal Parenting bills like Texas HB 803 are now being shown to DECREASE domestic violence and conflict! Kentucky is a prime example.
Kentucky passed an equal parenting bill 2 years ago. In the past year of data out of Kentucky, we can see that the Kentucky Equal Parenting bill has caused a 4 percent decrease in domestic violence and a whopping 11 percent decrease in overall child custody dispute filings in just the first year of the law. The decrease in domestic violence following equal parenting laws makes perfect sense because the current unequal family laws incentivize conflict. The current unequal parenting laws makes one parent a winner and the other parent a loser and so both sides continually fight over who is the winner and gets the kids. People get stupid and violent and aggressive when fighting over kids. Enacting equal parenting laws like HB 803 tells parents that when they go to court the kid gets equal time as long as both parents are fit, willing and able. This equal parenting starting point incentivizes good parents to not go down the path of getting violent and aggressive. It incentivizes parents behaving better. It incentivizes parents working together to share the child instead of fighting over the child, because there is nothing to fight over if the law says the new starting point is equal parenting. Fighting and domestic violence goes down, and even overall child custody cases go down the data from Kentucky shows. But of course, as always, any domestic abusers would already not get equal parenting because they would not be granted joint managing conservator. The Kids should be the winners and the kids should get equal time with both parents.
Equal Parenting bills, like Texas HB 803, will unclog the family court system and help victims of domestic violence and sexual assault to get better focus and priority in family courts.
Equal Parenting bills will greatly help victims of domestic violence. Anyone who knows anything about family courts knows that they are clogged with an overwhelming number of petty disputes. Unfortunately, this has caused real, important child custody disputes to be lost in the stack of cases and pushed back. Victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault, who have real issues that need addressed in family court, have to wait in line to have their case heard as the Judge sorts through all of the overload of cases. A victim might be waiting in line to be heard because the judge is preoccupied with stupid cases like, I don’t know, Jim and Sally over there fighting over who gets the kids because they disagree over what kind of dog shampoo is best.
You see, the current Texas standard possession order starting point has parents starting off unequal and incentivizes parents continually fighting over stupid stuff in family court as each parent tries to get more time. This has clogged family courts and has not allowed family courts to focus on the important family disputes involving family violence and sexual assault. The Texas Equal Parenting bill HB 803 will start parents, who are deemed fit parents, off on an equal custody starting point. That means when there are no real issues then the kids get to see both parents equally. That de incentivizes fighting in family courts over small petty stuff because they will not need to fight for more time over petty issues and instead will start off with equal time. Kids win and family court filings and domestic violence goes down. This unclogs the courts and allows the real important cases, such as those involving domestic violence and sexual assault, to get better attention and priority from Judges.
Texas Equal Parenting bill HB 803 will promote good parents getting along and equally sharing the children, while at the same time it will help decrease conflict and domestic violence, as we have seen in Kentucky. Kids win and courts get unclogged which will allow better focus on the important family court cases involving victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Kentucky Equal Parenting bill led to decline in family child custody cases & domestic violence cases
Domestic Violence Survivors Support Equal Parenting
Domestic Violence Survivors Say Equal Parenting Law LOWERS Domestic Violence – Support Texas HB 803
As Texas HB 803 Equal Parenting bill gets discussed, hear from Domestic Violence Survivors Alexandra and Jamie to see why they SUPPORT Equal Parenting Bills and see their data that shows the Kentucky Equal Parenting bill LOWERED Domestic Violence.
The following article was written by domestic violence survivors Alexandra Beckman and Jamie Sprinkle. Jamie Sprinkle even runs a statewide Anti-Domestic Violence organization.
These women lay out the data of how the Equal Parenting bill in Kentucky actually lowered domestic violence and drastically lowered conflict and court fighting in Kentucky. These women are survivors of Domestic Violence and they say they Equal Parenting laws are good!
Please take up and pass Texas HB 803 the Texas Equal Parenting bill. As these Domestic Violence survivors show has happened in Kentucky, the Equal Parenting bill here in Texas WILL have a positive effect on Domestic Violence and lower overall conflict between parents.
See the following article online at Daily Independent: Forum: Shared parenting law having a positive effect on domestic violence | Opinion | dailyindependent.com
Shared parenting law having a positive effect on domestic violence
· By Alexandra Beckman and Jamie Sprinkle
People going through a divorce or breakup often face a difficult choice. Should I stay to protect my children or leave to protect myself? No person, mom or dad, should have to face that choice. Fathers are more likely to face another level of issues such as false abuse or domestic violence claims. In fact, Kentucky’s citizens said that false abuse claims were not uncommon “to gain an advantage” in custody cases by 61% to 13%. Mothers have their own unique issues. If they leave, they may lose custody of what they love most, their children. Additionally, non-custodial moms face the stigma that goes with not being their children’s caregiver.
However, healthy moms and dads want to be parents after their families end. And, Kentucky recently became the first state to make that easier by passing the nation’s first true shared parenting law. Shared parenting is defined as joint custody, which is equal legal decision making, and equal parenting time. Kentucky stated last year what we all know that children need both parents if the adults are healthy. It seems so obvious that it is hard to believe it was truly a bold step.
Now, the results are in from Kentucky’s bold shared parenting step. The year before Kentucky had any shared parenting laws, there were 22,512 family court cases filed. They declined to 21,847 the year the partial shared parenting law began. When the complete Shared Parenting Law took effect in the last 12 months, new cases plummeted to 19,991. In other words, Kentucky’s families filed to sue each other in family court over 11% less despite the state’s population increasing.In comparison, the Center for Disease Control says national divorce cases increased slightly.
The highest conflict cases, those with domestic violence claims, showed a similar decline. Kentucky domestic violence claims declined by 248 in 2017 when the partial shared parenting law was enacted. Further, the decline of domestic violence accelerated by dropping an additional 445 cases as the complete Shared Parenting Law took effect in 2018 versus the prior year. Debbie Sivis, Director of the Shelter of Hope said, “There has been a drop off in the percentage of new guests with a domestic violence history who have children. The percentage with children has reduced from a majority in 2016 and 2017 to less than a third so far this year.”
As survivors of domestic abuse, we want to thank Matt Hale, who led the effort, and the lawmakers who made Kentucky the national leader on child custody issues. No law can control a person and force him/her to never be violent. However, Kentucky’s Shared Parenting Law saves parents from fighting just to remain a custodial parent. It seems so obvious now that if a state does not force parents to fight for their children that they will, well, fight less.
“If Kentucky's new law would have been in place back in 2013, maybe the courts could have prevented parental alienation from happening to me. It's been over 7 years with no contact or communication with 2 of my children and I have a clean record. There is no excuse for this type of abuse to happen. And our new law will help prevent parental alienation!”, Alexandra Beckman, coauthor of this column recently said.
Our state’s children will do better in the long run now too. The state Attorney General website states that almost ten percent of children witness domestic violence. Now, the Shared Parenting Law helps many children go to bed dreaming of toys or playgrounds instead of rewatching the nightmare of their parents’ violence. The AG’s website also defines domestic violence as threatening parents with the loss of their children. Many parents, fathers in particular, are now less likely to face that nightmare too. But no matter what your age or gender, Kentucky’s first in the nation Shared Parenting Law is something to celebrate. Tonight, when you go to bed, be glad that you can rest without worrying about whether you have to choose between your safety or your children.
Alexandra Beckman is a domestic violence survivor who founded Parental Alienation in Kentucky. She can be reached at alexandrabeckman@nationalparentsorganization.org. Jamie Sprinkle is a domestic violence survivor who founded Kentuckians Against Domestic Violence.
