Barbara Dragon (in Carson City) and Elissa Wahl (in Las Vegas) testified against AB 203 on Friday, March 15th. NHN and HSLDA submitted letters to the Assembly Judiciary Committee opposing the bill that would allow grandparents and great-grandparents to sue for visitation when married parents (both the natural or adoptive parents) deny visitation, click link above to read.
A representative of the Nevada Justice Association, Kim Surratt (a family law attorney in Reno) also testified against the bill and covered all the legal/constitutional issues with the bill.
Assembly Judiciary Committee Chairman Frierson stated that all committee members were receiving many phone calls regarding the bill, even that morning before the 8:00 a.m. hearing. NHN is so appreciative of the response on this issue from the Nevada homeschool community. Your opinions are being noted by Legislators. If you haven’t done so already, please be sure to leave your opinion of this bill on the NV Legislature Opinion page.
Committee members on both sides of the aisle asked Ms. Surratt excellent questions regarding the constitutionality of the bill with regards to the US Supreme Court decision on Troxel v. Granville (2000) and fundamental parental rights. It was an emotional hearing to say the least; we believe grandparents and great-grandparents should be a vital part of a grandchild’s life whenever possible. However, government must not trample on the rights of intact families to make decisions regarding the upbringing of their children.
We will keep you posted if/when there are further developments on AB 203.
NHN Officers