Equal Parenting As the Starting Point

Support equal parenting rights by signing this petition!


Last year Bill 2916 came close to passing, but sadly, in the end, it was not. Let our voices be heard this year and finally end this suffering!

Tell them that we, as parents, do deserve equal parenting rights.

That 50/50 parenting time must be the starting point.

Yes, other issues should and will be factored in, but do not allow them to penalize the good parents that want to be in their children%u2019s lives.

The children truly are the ones being punished by only being able to see their loving parent on a part-time basis.

Studies show that :

63% of youth suicides are from one parent homes.
[U. S. D.H.H.S. Bureau of the Census]

90% of all homeless and runaway children are from one parent homes.
85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from one parent homes.
[Center for Disease Control]

80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from one parent homes.
[Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 14 p. 403-26]

71% of all high school dropouts come from a one parent home.
[National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools]

70% of juveniles in state operated institutions come from one parent home.
[U.S. Dept. of Justice, Special Report,]

85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a one parent home.

The change we are asking for:

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 36, Chapter 6, Part 1, relative to equal parenting.

Section 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 36-6-01, is amended by deleting subdivision (a) (2) (A) (i) in its entirety and substituting instead the following:

          (i) Except as provided in the subdivision (a)(2)(A), the court shall have the widest discretion to order a custody arrangement that is in the best interest of the child. At any hearing to determine custody of a minor child, the court shall order that the child get equal time with each of the child's parents unless the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that one (1) or both of the parents are unfit to care for the child. This section shall not be construed to prohibit both fit parents from voluntarily entering into a parenting plan that does not give the child equal time with each parent. This section shall not be construed to prohibit the court from giving the child less than equal time with a parent that does not seek equal time with the child. For the purpose of assisting the court in making a custody determination when a parent has been proven to be unfit, the court may direct that an investigation be conducted.

SIGN THE PETITION AND ADD IN YOUR COUNTY!



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