Turner Amendment Protects Deployed Service Members Parental Rights

Statement

Turner Amendment Protects Deployed Service Members Parental Rights

When the U.S. House of Representatives considered the fiscal year 2008 National Defense Authorization Act, I introduced an important amendment. The amendment I offered is designed to prevent family courts from using service members' time away from home against them in custody battles.

This issue came to light in recent news accounts. The story of Lt. Eva Crouch-Slusher was particularly emotional. After returning from an 18 month mobilization with the Kentucky National Guard she returned to pick-up Sara, her young daughter, from her former spouse, per the prior custody arrangement. When she attempted to collect Sara, her ex-husband told her: "Not without a court order you won't." That started a two-year, $25,000 battle to regain custody - that was ultimately successful.

Recently, I had the opportunity to meet Eva when we appeared together on a national television show. The program featured the issue of military personnel who have had their service used against them in custody hearings. Eva is a dedicated parent and proud member of the Kentucky National Guard. She told me that she strives to serve her country with distinction, but was unpleasantly surprised when that service was used as a reason to change an established custody arrangement and take her child from her.

Unfortunately, Eva's story is not an isolated incident. Family courts have been counting the time these brave men and women are away in active military duty against service members in custody decisions. In some cases, courts are overturning established custody arrangements while the custodial parent is serving in Iraq or Afghanistan. To use that duty against the service member as a parent is inexcusable. We should not penalize those who have volunteered to serve in the U.S. military.

I do not believe it is in the best interest of children to teach them that we penalize those who volunteer to serve in the U.S. military. Nor is right for one arm of the government to ask men and women to volunteer to sacrifice and serve in our military while another branch of our government punishes them by using that service against them in custody hearings.

The amendment I offered prevents courts from permanently changing the custody of a service member's child during that service member's period of deployment. The amendment further advises the courts that it may not use the service member's absence during their deployment against that service member in custody decisions.

The amendment provides an exception for temporary orders issued in the best interest of the child; upon completion of a service member's military service, any original custody order goes back into effect. The amendment requests that circumstances should go back to conditions before the service members' deployment - nothing more and nothing less.

We ask a great deal of our service members and mobilizations can disrupt and strain relationships at home. The additional protection in the amendment is needed to provide them peace of mind that the courts will not take away their children because they answered their country's call to serve. The amendment protects them and it protects their children.

I was pleased when HASC (House Armed Services Committee) Chairman, Ike Skelton (D-MO) accepted the amendment I offered. The amendment received bipartisan support and was passed by the entire House in a voice vote. However, for the amendment to become law the Senate must accept the amendment as well. The Senate should take up the issue in the near future, and we need their support.

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