OLYMPIA— Lives on hold, lives on the line. Citizens who put their lives on hold, and all too often even put their lives on the line shouldn’t have to look over their shoulders and wonder what’s going on with their parental, legal and education rights back home.
That’s the message hammered home this morning in three measures that are among the very first bills to win House of Representatives approval in the 2012 legislative session.
House Bill 1050, prime-sponsored by state Rep. John McCoy, protects the rights of deployed military parents
“It’s just common sense and common decency that deployed military parents and military parents who are under some other service obligation shouldn’t have to worry about their visitation rights with their kids,” McCoy emphasized.
“We should always go above and beyond in our own mission to respect the parental rights and obligations of service personnel,” he said. “This is an especially important and fundamental truth when these fathers and mothers are serving during a time of war.”
The Tulalip Democrat’s legislation:
* Allows a military parent to ask the court to delegate the parent’s residential time with a child if the parent’s military orders involve being more than one night away when the parent is scheduled to have time with a child.
* And provides that the delegation provision applies when establishing a parenting plan or court order, not just when modifying an existing plan or order.
House Bill 1615, prime-sponsored by state Rep. Connie Ladenburg, “is aimed at safeguarding the legal rights for all of our citizens called up to active duty.
“National Guard members should be able to count on the same legal protections when they are called up in response to a state emergency as they now receive when they are called to service by the president,” Ladenburg explained.
The Washington Service Members’ Civil Relief Act, according to terms of the legislation, would apply to National Guard members who are under a call to service authorized by the governor for more than 30 days running.
Ladenburg said her legislation is centered on the important principle that service people’s right to have their day in court should be upheld and honored “whenever they are putting themselves in harm’s way defending our security.”
House Bill 1221, prime-sponsored by state Rep. Fred Finn, will see to it that colleges and universities provide a chance for reservist students to make up any tests they miss if they’re called to active duty or military training for a month or less.
Finn pointed out that the measure “fills an unfortunate gap in current state law that can adversely impact men and women who are either involved in military drills and training or are called to duty in response to natural disasters that might run less than 30 days.
“Military service and service to one’s state and country in response to a domestic calamity should never penalize men and women who are also trying to get a good education — on top of their self-sacrifice for our safety and well-being,” Finn said.
The three military bills passed the House unanimously and will now receive further consideration in the Senate.