Free Republic

In the face of enormous opposition, California Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco) has decided to withdraw a bill which would have granted custodial parents an almost unlimited right to move children far way from their noncustodial parents. The bill, SB 730, would have abrogated the California Supreme Court's recent LaMusga move-away decision. In that decision, the Court affirmed custodial parents' presumptive right to move but ruled that courts have the power to restrain moves which run counter to children's best interests. Opposition to the bill and unrestricted move-aways was led by the Alliance for Children Concerned About...

In the LaMusga move-away case, the California Supreme Court is currently debating how to best preserve the bonds between children and their parents after a divorce. By contrast, Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco) is trying to slip a bill through the legislature to make it easier for custodial parents to sever these bonds by slipping out of town. Burton's recently introduced Senate Bill 1367 will harm California children of divorce by limiting the ability of courts to determine children's best interests when considering custodial parent move-aways. The bill instructs courts that a custodial parent's request to change...