Florida Child Abduction Act Passes Unanimously Senate and House Floor Votes

Today members of Florida’s Senate joined the members of Florida’s House of Representatives in demonstrating great leadership by passing unanimously Florida’s groundbreaking ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ sponsored by child advocates Representative Darryl Rouson (St. Petersburg) and Senator Eleanor Sobel (Ft. Lauderdale). HB 787 will become law once Governor Crist signs the bill, as he expected to within the next few days.

On a House floor vote that occurred yesterday, HB 787 passed unanimously with 115 ‘Yeas’ to 0 ‘Nays’. Today, the Senate unanimously passed the legislation with 38 ‘Yeas’ and 0 ‘Nays’ votes.

Representative Darryl Rouson, who sponsored and guided the landmark legislation through the House of Representatives said, “Our children in the state of Florida have every right to be protected from any and all forms of abuse. The ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ will in fact protect our children from the abuse associated with the criminal act of child stealing. With an estimated 16,000 international child abductions alone in our country last year – a number that is growing at 40% per year - how could we as lawmakers not act expeditiously in order to protect our state’s and nation’s future: our treasured children? We simply cannot. It required a great deal of work, but today we now wait for Governor Crist’s signing of this bill into law. I say with great pride that the lawmakers of the great state of Florida realized the importance of this law and acted unilaterally for the best interest of the children of our state.”

Carolyn Ann Vlk, the ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ bill author, stated, “Today is a wondrous day! What began as not much more that a mother’s dream is now almost a reality. When I began writing Florida’s ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ it was my greatest desire that my home state put into place child abduction prevention legislation that could be utilized as precedence for other states. As soon as Governor Crist signs the proposed legislation into law, we will have that ability. Words cannot adequately express my appreciation for the bipartisan support exhibited while working together in creating legislation to protect all children. This is a moment I have long awaited and showcases democracy at its finest. What an outstanding day for the children and families of Florida.”

According to leading experts and advocates who focus in the area of parental child abduction, prevention law is critical. Outspoken children’s advocate and author of ‘Chasing The Cyclone’, Peter Thomas Senese, one of the bill’s lead advocates, added, “Child abduction prevention laws are a necessity and an integral part of each state’s ability to protect the best interests of their children-citizens who are at risk of abduction. Without a court’s ability to consider risk factors associated with a potential threat of abduction combined with the capability to act in ways that would prevent this crime from happening, the growing malignant plague of international parental child abduction that has silently swept through our nation will continue to increase. What is at risk as a nation is the disappearance of our most precious commodity: our children. And with international parental child abduction growing at approximately rapidly, laws such as Florida’s ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ will be our nation’s first line of defense against international parental child abduction. I suspect that many states that do not have preventive laws have now watched the great leadership Florida’s legislators demonstrated today. As a successful Chasing Parent who knows all too well the horrors associated with chasing the cyclones of international parental child abduction, I am deeply pleased in the knowledge that parents and their children who will come after me will benefit from the extensive effort put forth. No child or parent should ever have to know what it is like to have one parent attempt to steal and disappear with your child. This law will prevent much of this from happening. And I want to add that so much thanks must be extended to the amazing writer and spirit of the legislation, Carolyn Ann Vlk, and to Representative Darryl Rouson and his legislative aide Henry Moseley, Senator Eleanor Sobel and her legislative aide Nick Matthews, and the rest of the team that put their hearts, spirit, and best effort into guiding the passage of this what we expect to be an incredible law. Today is a great day for not only the children of Florida, but children our entire nation.”

If signed by child advocate Governor Crist as expected, HB 787 – The ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ will go into effect on January 1st, 2011.

Carolyn Ann Vlk concluded, “As the bill’s author, I would like to share with the people of my state that none of this would have been possible if it were not for Representative Darryl Rouson. He is a champion of our children. And Senator Eleanor Sobel acted in great ways to protect the children of our state. I want to thank each of them, along with their respective legislative aides, Henry Moseley and Nick Matthews, for all they have done.”

For more information, please visit:
www.floridachildabductionpreventionact.info
www.chasingthecyclone.com

florida Child Abduction Act Passes House Committee: Parents Of Over 200 U.S. Children Criminally Held In Japan Rally In D.C.

As Florida’s House Of Representative ‘Policy Council’ Unanimously Passes today the ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ bill, the loving parents of over 200 criminally abducted children still in Japan are rallying this weekend in Washington DC in conjunction with the Cherry Blossom Festival, urging Japan to release their wrongfully detained children.

If Florida’s lawmakers needed to see first-hand the importance of Representative Darryl Rouson’s sponsored ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ bill, all that is needed is for these policymakers to look into the eyes or listen to the voices of the fathers and mothers of ‘Bring Abducted Children Home’ who are uniting and rallying this weekend in Washington, D.C. to demonstrate their disapproval and anger over Japan’s refusal to return over 200 United States children-citizens – many their own children – who were criminally detained in Japan.

Perhaps the lawmakers who sat on child advocate Representative Llorente’s ‘Policy Council’ had considered the fact that Japan has never returned an abducted child to the United States, when they unanimously voted on advancing Carolyn Ann Vlk’s authored ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ bill.

Next up for this critical bill that if made into law would allow courts to consider risk factors associated with a potential parental child abduction and to order remedies that would prevent such abduction from occurring, is for the House’s ‘Criminal and Justice Council’, to vote on the bill this Tuesday, April 13th, 2010. The council is chaired by Representative Snyder, who is known to be a defender and protector of children.

Representative Darryl Rouson, a lawmaker with a long and impressive history of advocating for children everywhere commented, “I am extremely pleased with the leadership that came out of Chairman Llorente’s ‘Policy Council’ this morning. Today marks the fifth legislative committee that the ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ bill passed unanimously. Most of us policymakers in Tallahassee are parents or grandparents – we realize just how important it is to create laws that not only will protect our children, but will also protect the parents of our children who act in the best interest of our children. Prevention law is critical – and all you have to do is look at Washington, D.C. today and hear the pain in the voices of all of those loving parents who have had their children criminally abducted to Japan. And not one of our U.S. citizens has been returned home? This is beyond unthinkable. My prayers are with these illegally detained children and their parents as they fight the necessary fight to bring abducted children home! And this is why we, the lawmakers in Florida need to continue our expedite action of making the ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ bill a law.”

Peter Thomas Senese, the author of the critically acclaimed ‘Chasing The Cyclone’ and producer of the groundbreaking documentary film ‘Chasing Parents’ said, “I am very pleased to see Representative Llorente’s leadership today as the ‘Policy Council’ passed unanimously the landmark bill my friend Carolyn Vlk authored. This bill will prevent many child abductions in Florida from happening. And by Florida demonstrating leadership, new laws will be passed in other states that will prevent abductions from occurring there. And that is why we’re all doing what we’re doing: to protect our innocent children from experiencing the cruelty of parental child abduction. As Representative Rouson pointed out, all you need to understand the nightmare that occurs in most every case is to look at the ordeal the parents of ‘Bring Abducted Children Home’ are doing this weekend in Washington, D.C. I mean, how could we not have preventive laws in place when countries like Japan have never returned a criminally parentally abducted child regardless if the abductor is a Japanese national or not? We need these laws, and we need them now. Fortunately, Representative Rouson realized that and acted. Unfortunately though, if lawmakers and the public in general had understood the reality of these types of abduction crimes, I am certain preventive laws would have been passed earlier, and parents like my friend William Lake, a Florida resident, would not be in D.C. protesting Japan’s shameful behavior. And on that note, I want to urge the public to look for and support the members of BAC Home who will be rallying this weekend during the Cherry Blossom Festival. They really need all the support they can receive.”

Carolyn Ann Vlk, the author of ‘The Child Abduction Prevention Act’ sponsored by Representative Rouson and Senator Sobel added, “My heart breaks in learning of the tragedy after tragedy that each of these and many other parents must endure in the face of having a child abducted, particularly across international borders. I can’t imagine what it would be like to wake up every day and not see my child, who was an at-risk child. I hope and imagine that the lawmakers here in my state of Florida are not only listening to the voices of the loving parents in our state who are urging for this critical piece of legislation to be made into law, but I hope they hear the voices and see the faces of our friends in Washington this weekend. Surely, they will come to realize that the issue of parental child abduction is global in nature and perhaps more complex and heartbreaking than they could ever imagine. I urge the lawmakers in my wonderful state to pass the ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’ bill and share with the world that the crime of parental child abduction will not be tolerated in our state, and in civilized nations, for that matter. And finally, if you’re in Washington over the coming days, please take the time to visit the parents from ‘Bring Abducted Children Home’. They need your support. Their children desperately need your support.”

For more information on the Florida ‘Child Abduction Prevention Act’, please visit www.floridachildabductionpreventinact.info. For more information on Bring Abducted Children Home, please visit www.bachome.org. For more information on ‘Chasing The Cyclone’, Peter Thomas Senese, or international parental child abduction, please visit www.chasingthecyclone.com.