THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 22, 1997 TAG: 9701220004
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: 28 lines
Ann Sjoerdsma's Jan. 13 column ``Regarding joint custody: Educate judges, don't legislate bias,'' is a serious disservice to the community.
In defense of state Senate Bill 496, for the many judges who discounted the value of a father's involvement in raising their children, no amount of education will penetrate their mind-set; only a change in the law will.
In her campaign of misinformation, Sjoerdsma grossly undercuts joint physical custody with an all-too-common generic horror story of disinterested fathers who shared no parenting responsibilities during the marriage, trying to get joint custody only to lower their child-support payments.
To set the record straight, no judge is going to order joint custody unless both parties are willing to work together. The divorced parents have to set aside the emotional pain of divorce to raise their children together.
And who benefits from joint custody? Everyone. The children grow up knowing both their mother and father. The man is a father instead of being reduced to the role of a visitor. The woman has the opportunity to pursue her single social life while the father has custody of the children. Everyone benefits when the mother and father work together.
DAVID J. REID
Virginia Beach, Jan. 13, 1997