This is how you testify on an equal parenting bill!

uh we next have um uh Michael [Music] ripen bless [Music] you thank you Mr chairman members of the committee uh I appreciate the opportunity to testify before you and I'd like to personally thank you Mr runed for standing strong on equal parenting my name is Mike Reen I'm here today in support of equal parenting in HB 4691 I'm here under one of the most noble titles an individual can receive that is the title of parent this particular title implants great responsibility upon the person who carries it and it also gains substantial rights Liberties and protections from the hands of the state protections of these rights and Liberties is something significantly lacking in our current

laws and the reason why many of us parents are here today the current guides in the law uh trample on fundamental rights privacy interests equal protection while circumventing due process it is time to fix these problems I'm sure many of you have heard the argument that men are treated unfairly in custody cases and that is a violation of equal protection while this may make me unpopular that particular argument is a flaw to argument on equal protection as the law is not written in a way that is um or is written in a way that that is gender neutral however the laws are in fact written in such a way that unmarried parents are treated

differently under the law this is a violation of equal protection unmarried parents and children of unmarried parents are treated as second-class Citizens where they are held to completely different standards than that of married in terms of when the state may infringe upon their rights it is the duty of this committee it is the duty of all of our legislators to ensure that our laws protect this great State citizens from the significant overreach from the hand of the Judiciary I would be willing to bet that not a single individual in this room will argue that the best interest of the child is not of the utmost importance however I would put forth that the true debate lies in who has the

legal authority to determine what is best for an individual child our nation has a long-standing history of protecting the parents right to determine what is best for their own child over the authority of any state Act the best interest of the child is not a magical incantation that when whispered by a judge grants them authority over a fit parents decisions however that's how it's treated the state provides no guides no book no direction to parents in making best decisions therefore the state has no authority to hold an individual to a standard that doesn't exist deciding what is best are personal private decisions that belong to the fit parent the right that belongs to the parents

are fundamental meaning no State Authority grants these rights they're theirs by the very nature of being a parent um uh yet indeed the state does have an obligation to protect these rights what does the state do they infringe these rights they do not protect these rights they do not Grant these rights the state's only duty is to decide when they can infringe these rights the next argument I'm sure you're familiar with is the argument from those that oppose equal parenting suggesting that equal parenting somehow is dangerous or increases the likeliness of abuse our state currently has laws in place and protections in place to address abuse and neglect HB 4691 also affirms these protections these current

laws are the proper path to follow should this be the situation in an individual case these particular items are in fact Criminal and require formal charges formal investigations and proper protections as well as a formal conviction prior to an individual being punished harm is in fact a legitimate factor to limit or remove parental rights the final position I will address is that of the Judiciary the position that equal parenting liit limits their discretion it should this bill doesn't go far enough to do that in fact as privacy interest a judge discretion is already heavily limited by our Federal Constitution to the degree that in making decisions affecting privacy interest the judge's discretion

is limited to making a decision that are narrowly tailored in the least restrictive means in a manner that only addresses the state's defined compelling interest yet our state doesn't seem to care about these limitations which is quite evident in the way our laws are handled judge just routinely diminish and infringe upon the rights of parents and children without ever meeting the proper burdens the proper burden is a finding of harm or unfitness a good guide in my opinion and beginning any consideration in custody matters are the following the first consideration absolutely is the child in danger the second consideration has either parent been found to be unfit the third does making a particular

decision infringe on the rights of one or both of the parents the fourth does the state have the legitimate authority to infringe on a married couple's rights I use this standard because equal protection requires that the laws the regulations the guides and the bars to be met be the same for the married and the unmarried thank you for your time I hope that you'll be diligent in protecting the rights of the people in Michigan and support equality and parenting thank you very much see any questions thank you