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The Republicans saw an opportunity with a very popular issue and ran with it. It wasn't just any issue, but one that affects more Americans than any law other than taxes and traffic: child custody. The national pendulum has swung heavily toward shared parenting, which uses equal physical child custody and equal decision making as the starting point. National Parents Organization’s independent polling shows that a whopping 86% of Americans support this custody arrangement.
In 2018, Kentucky became the first state to presume that shared parenting is in a child’s best interest. The Bluegrass State’s shared parenting law roared into life despite no Democrat choosing to co-sponsor it and two liberal lawmakers voting against it. That fall, Kentucky citizens voted for every single candidate who showed more support for shared parenting than his or her opponent.
Shared parenting has gained steam, with five more states passing similar laws primarily pushed by Republicans (though Missouri’s bill had a Democrat Senate sponsor, Karla May, and a Republican House sponsor, Jim Murphy). For instance, all eleven of West Virginia’s 2022 shared parenting law sponsors were Republican while 20 of the 22 nay votes were Democrats.
Suddenly, things are flipping. In April, Oklahoma’s shared parenting bill had 36 Senate sponsors, including all the Democrats. However, Republican House floor leader, attorney Julie Daniels, refused to hear the bill, which then died. Just a few days ago, Louisiana passed shared parenting while all seven sponsors were Democrats. Not one Republican co-sponsored the bill and the Republican governor, also an attorney, did not even sign it, allowing it to be enacted without his signature.
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First, what brought about the change in Democrats? Perhaps it was the polling showing that the crucial Hispanic swing voting bloc provides the highest support of any ethnic group. Or perhaps it's the growing support among African-Americans, like Missouri’s Karla May or the Central Kentucky NAACP, which just sponsored a shared parenting day event. Or maybe it’s the overall equality aspect, which has historically been a focus of Democrats.
A father holds a boy on his shoulders while the child waves an American flag. (Istock)
The unexplainable part is the Republicans giving Democrats the opening. Shared parenting gives fathers fair treatment, which is seems a natural Republican issue. The GOP also has traditionally supported parents’ rights issues such as school choice. Is it because the most vocal shared parenting opponents are attorneys’ associations and the GOP is giving in to a special interest group?
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Shared parenting is good for everyone, no matter their party. Since its landmark law, Kentucky has seen total divorce filings decline and family court domestic violence cases in particular plummet. Its eleven exceptions to the shared parenting presumption have helped child maltreatment decline since the bill passed.
So which way will the parties go? Charlie Kirk's last group of social media posts recommended both parties champion shared parenting. If polling and voting patterns keep growing for shared parenting, the parties won’t have any other choice.
Matt Hale was the chair of National Parents Organization’s Kentucky Chapter and was the architect of the Kentucky equal shared laws. He now serves on the National Board of NPO.
