.......M. Ferguson Tinsley
.......June 21, 2004
......"Group rallies for changes in joint custody law."
Rayco Saunders has had a tough life.
His mother died of a drug overdose when he was 11, he said.
“I was there to see that,” the 29-year-old Beltzhoover resident said, adding that’s why he abhors alcohol and drugs.
Saunders grew up in tough neighborhoods,
In 1997, he was sentenced to serve time in prison for shooting at a police officer. In February, he survived an attempt on his own life.
Despite the rugged road, Saunders says he’s going to do something his father never did. He is going to parent his own son.
“If you don’t take care of your children, you deserve no respect as a man,” he told a group of fathers sanding on the steps of the
Saunders was speaking at the 10th annual Father’s Day March and Rally sponsored by the local chapter of National Congress for Fathers and Children.
The group is advocating legislation that would make it easier for men to get full or joint custody of their children.
About 60 attended, two–thirds of them fathers. Some had small children in tow. A handful were grandparents, aunts, uncles and advocates from other local organizations like the Coalition for Fathering Families, Cooperative Parenting for Divided Families, and System Services for the Handicapped.
They listened to and shared testimonies about fighting the court system in hopes of having a place in the lives of their children.
State Rep. Tom Stevenson,
The bill would make parents who have joint custody responsible for informing each other as to the health, education, and welfare of their children.
Further, the law, as a rule, would force the court system to award joint custody “unless the court finds that [it] is not in the best interest of the minor child.”
Also the law would:
Allow either parent to rebut the presumption that joint custody is best for the child.
Force consideration of the child’s desires regarding which household he or she lives in.
Require determination as to which parent will encourage interaction with the other parent when determining custody.
Expect consideration regarding either parent’s abusive or violent past.
Require that the parents cooperate on child-care matters.
Require the parents to work out the logistics to allow the child time with both.
Recognize the professional opinion of a child advocate, if one is involved.
Stevenson said the bill, which is one of a half-dozen put forward over the years, was referred to the House of Judiciary Committee in September and has been delayed there.
“I want to encourage you to start lobbying and keep lobbying for House Bill 2041,” he urged, telling participants to write their representatives and Rep. Dennis O’ Brien, R. Philadelphia, chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
Meanwhile, Saunders said, although many of his choices have worked against his well-being, he has managed to turn his scrappy past into a career. Now a licensed boxer, Saunders is slated for an Aug. 7 match at Heinz Field.
Still, he said he believes he would be further along in life if his father had taught him right and wrong.
“My father never taught me how to throw a football or a baseball,” said Saunders staring intently at the small crowd. “My father never even taught me that 2 + 2 = 4. My father taught me nothing.”
When he finished his say, Saunders stepped back from the audience. A stocky man wearing a gray T- shirt with “Coalition for Fathering Families” emblazoned across the chest, said to Saunders: “Keep on doing what you’re doing. Don’t let the system discourage you.”
“I won’t. I’m not giving up,” Saunders replied.
M. Ferguson Tinsley can be reached at mtinsley@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1455.