Kevin Coughlin

RAY R. LAUTENSCHLAGER
392 LINDENWOOD AVE " AKRON, OHIO " 44301
PHONE: 330-773-5015 " FAX: 330-773-5015

September 8, 2002

Kevin Couglin
324 Iota Ave.
Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio 44223

Dear Senator Couglin:

Recently one of your campaign workers left some of your literature at my home, which I read with interest. You say that you are working to benefit families in Ohio but there is an area in Ohio where the families are being totally ignored and the laws of the State and the United States are broken on a daily basis.
That area is in our Domestic Relations Courts. Regularly one parent or the other is told that they may be nothing but a visitor in the lives of their children with out the proper due process that the Constitution pledges to all. The courts fail to recognize the value of both parents to a child even when numerous reports by noted psychologists and family studies groups have written volumes of the importance of a child having both parents active in their life. The State statues, even say that everyone is to be treated equally when they walk into a court room but judges and magistrates in the Domestic Courts of this state think nothing of relegating one parent to being nothing but a wallet and weekend warrior to their children.
They hide behind the term 'best interest of the child' phrase to allow their own personal biases to take over and influence the outcome of a hearing. The best interest of the child can mean many things to many different people. If some one in their mind decides that the best interest of a child is to play in the freeway at rush hour then that is what it is to them. The term leaves too much open to interpretation.
The laws of this state need to be changed quickly to put an end to this. Fit parents deserve to be able to stay in they lives of their children in an equal manner. Children deserve that much respect as do the parents involved. The Domestic Courts of this State have be come nothing more than a cash cow creating a machine which robs our children of money that can be used to benefit them. Money is fed needlessly to doctors and lawyers while our children go with out and miss out on the influences and the love that both parents can provide.
I have been divorced since 1995 and have had a shared parenting plane that gives me both equal parenting time and equal right to make decisions that impact my son's life. My son has reaped the benefits of having a father that has been a large part of his life, not one that visits every other weekend. He has seen the influence that a strong relationship with me has brought to his education and the life in general. Had I chosen to take the path that so many parents, especially fathers, are forced into with their children, he would have become another lost child in the system and missed on the values that I have taught him.
It is time that this State becomes another in the growing list of states that require Domestic Courts to use a presumption of shared parenting unless and until one or the other parent is found to be unfit. Oklahoma has proven to have the strongest of such statues and requires that a parent be proved unfit before they are relegated to a visitor role in their childrens lives.
I have taken a very active role in trying to get the statues of this state changed and as Director of the Akron Chapter of Parents and Children for Equality, I will not rest until all parents are treated equally by the courts and the laws of this State. Personally, I would like to sit with you and talk about the changes that are necessary to make this happen and the benefits to not only the children but to the State and the courts within it. The open dialogue would open your eyes to the changes needed and the injustices that happen regularly in our Courts. I would welcome a call from you any time and the chance for such a conversation to take place and through that conversation you will clearly see the changes that can and should happen and how they will help the Great State of Ohio, now and in the future.
Sincerely,
Ray R. Lautenschlager
Director
PACE Akron

Ohio Senate
Senate Building
Columbus, Ohio 43215
614/466 4823

Committees:
State and Local Government and Veterans' Affairs Chair
Energy, Natural Resources and Environment
Judiciary Committee on Criminal Justice
Health, Human Services and Aging

Kevin Coughlin
State Senator 27th District

September 27, 2002

Ray Lautenschlager
392 Lindenwood Ave.
Akron, Oh 44301 2148

Dear Mr. Lautenschlager:

Thank you for staying in contact with me. I appreciate your views regarding the need for the granting of more joint child custody arrangements here in Ohio. I understand your thoughts and your frustrations.

Since April of this year, there have been no new developments within the Senate concerning this sort of legislation. However, given that the judicial branch of government is an entity entirely independent of the legislative branch, this is not an issue on which we in the General Assembly can have a direct impact.

If you have any further questions or concerns regarding this or any other state issue, please feel free to contact my office.

Kindest regards,
Kevin
Kevin Coughlin
State Senator
27th District