I do feel that the Justices copped out. I feel that as they got into the case, they wished they had never agreed to take the case. I think that their ruling, clearly showed “the ivory tower” nature of their decision. It showed how little they really understand about the “nuts and bolts” of the problem. It showed how little they understand about the emotional and financial harm forced visitation litigation inflicts on children and families. In my opinion, their eagerness to “leave to another day” and case, a ruling on the real Constitutional issues of state intrusion into the family privacy and autonomy of fit parents, confirms the fact that they were very uncomfortable with the issue. Remember, it could be 5, 10, 15, 20 years or more before they would ever accept another case of this type. How much pain and anguish will families have to suffer before the issue is finally resolved? If they truly had a grasp of the importance of their decision to the well-being of children, they would have squarely addressed the issue of Constitutionality head on rather than skirt the issue, as they did.

The AARP is not giving up. Their spokesmen have already issued a statement that grandparents should continue to file suit. The Troxels are not giving up. They have said that if they are not giving visitation they will sue again. The Legislators are not giving up. Many have already issued statements saying their state laws are unaffected. Others, such as Sen. Campbell in Florida already has said that he will reintroduce new legislation that gives a presumption to grandparents even thought the S.C. stated that the parents decision must have special preference. These people and others are determined to have control of our children. We must not let them. What does all of this mean? It means that as fit concerned parents, the battle is far from over. Yes, we may have a few more tools in our arsenal of defense against these unjust laws, but we must work even harder to raise public awareness of the dangers these laws present. We must work to unseat Legislators that support these laws and campaign hard for legislators that oppose them. We must continue to speak loudly regarding the harm these laws do to children and how Legislators that support these laws and grandparents that use these laws, are actually inflicting far greater harm on our children that the “harm they are pretending” these laws prevent or the “perceived benefits” they provide children.

Make no mistake about it. This is a very political issue with tons of contributions and millions of votes provided by those that want control of our children. The only way to fight politics is with politics. We must continue to organize politically and lobby our elected officials to repeal these laws. We must force Legislators and large Corporations to take a stand and only support Legislators and purchase products form Corporations that are willing to commit to and stand firm for parental rights. This is how The Civil Rights Movement and other movements such as Woman’s Suffrage prevailed. We must not be complacent, we fight harder now than ever before. We all know how uninformed many parents, grandparents, Judges, legislators, lawyers and others are regarding how harmful these laws really are. My greatest fear is that with the media coverage of the Supreme Court ruling, these same uninformed people will now feel the issue is resolved. As we all know, the issue is not, nor will never be resolved until there is not one single child in America living under a forced visitation order, and until ALL American families are free from this “Sword of Damocles” that hangs perilously above their heads.

Regards..Grady