Keep Johnny Shaw in Tennessee

Representatives - TN General Assembly - Johnny Shaw

We must commend Johnny Shaw on a job well done!

He saw that a bill being passed the way it was written was a loss for children in the state of Tennessee and he spoke out about it. Kudos to Johnny Shaw!

“I am on that committee to do what’s best for the children of this state. And equal parenting is not what’s best, in every case, for the children.”

The entire article and (link):

Equal Time Parenting Pulled from Committee
Tuesday, April 06th, 2010, by Joe White
A bill in the Tennessee legislature meant to give divorced parents equal time with their children is off the table. The measure was yanked out of committee by its sponsor Tuesday.
Republican Mike Bell of McMinn County says his bill was always intended to give children of divorced parents an equal opportunity to know them both.

Fellow Republican Donna Rowland amended the bill to give disgruntled dads only “maximum opportunity” instead of “equal time.” Bell withdrew his bill.

“Mr. Chairman, with this amendment added, I think that it doesn’t do anything to change the current law, and it would, in fact, it might even give some people false hope that we’ve done something productive.”

The push for equal time is backed by organizations made up largely of fathers who say they are shortchanged by the current system. William Fain of “Families United” says they will likely revive the issue next year.

While the law won’t change this year, the attention paid to custody rights has made waves around the state. Members of the House Children and Family Affairs Committee say some family courts have changed local rules that had given mothers an advantage in custody battles.

The bill is HB 2916 Bell/SB 2881 Bunch.

Rowland, a Murfreesboro Republican, had crafted an amendment that took out the “equal time” provisions and said the court should strive to give each parent “maximum opportunity” to be with the child or children. Bell tried to change the wording back, had his amendment rejected, and immediately withdrew the bill from consideration.

Committee member Johnny Shaw, a Madison County Democrat, was unhappy with the Children and Family Affairs Committee having been a venue for unhappy divorced parents.


“I am on that committee to do what’s best for the children of this state. And equal parenting is not what’s best, in every case, for the children.”

The bill focused on “he said, she said” testimony for several weeks until committee members called a halt and asked for more information from the courts themselves on the disposition of custody cases.




Now write in and thank him for a job well done - a true child advocate!