Jill Bjerke: Don't Let Divorce Lawyers Buy Your Vote On Measure 6
With just over a week till election-day, it seems appropriate to summarize what people want you to know, and what lawyers don’t want you to know.
Those encouraging you to vote YES ON MEASURE 6 want you to know:
- 110 world experts endorse shared parenting in family law, and say current law is based on “flawed science”
- Too many children are growing up without one of their parents; most often their father
- Shared parenting is popular in poll after poll, achieving over 70% approval and with equal support of women and men
- Divorce lawyers only get paid to argue or draft documents; so they have a financial incentive to create conflict and draw out the process
- Measure 6 has been endorsed by a long list of people and organizations, including Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Patric, Phyllis Schlafly, Leading Women for Shared Parenting, ACFC, Divorce Corp, Stand Up for Gus, Lawyers for Shared Parenting and many others
- Measure 6 is leading in the polls with 44% in Favor, 30% opposed and 26% undecided
- The Bismarck Tribune endorsed Measure 6 calling the thinking of those who oppose “antiquated”
- The vast majority of North Dakota cases currently settle; Measure 6 will do NOTHING to keep those cases from settling in the future
- Divorce Lawyers do NOT pursue “the best interest of the child”. They are bound to advocate for their client who is either the mother or father and argue to get as much money or as much of the child’s time they can for that parent. THEY are the ones who are putting the parents before children
Those who want you to vote no on Measure 6, don’t want you to know:
- The State Bar Association of North Dakota (SBAND) set up a front organization named “Keeping Kids First” to look like a grassroots group opposing the measure. Why is it a front?
- They used the @sband e-mail domain from the State Bar Association of North Dakota
- 10 of 12 Committee members from Keeping Kids First are members of SBAND (9 divorce attorneys and the executive director of SBAND)
- 4 Attorneys have written articles calling out SBAND’s use of Mandatory Bar Dues as a violation of civil rights
- The Executive Director of SBAND tried to justify his “donation” of mandatory dues saying “the bar association’s governing board has determined this ballot measure isn’t a political issue. This is a social policy issue rather than a political issue.”
- Only 8 days later, the Chairman of “Keeping Kids First” called Measure 6 a “Political” issue
- The lawyers of Keeping Kids First used the $70,000 to fund a massive 2 month media campaign, larger than most companies in North Dakota could ever afford
- The lawyers of Keeping Kids First have stated multiple times, if Shared Parenting passes, they’ll make a lot more money (but want you to believe they are spending a fortune fighting against it because they care so much about kids)
- The primary mouthpiece of Keeping Kids First, divorce lawyer Jason McClean, doesn’t even have children, but wants to tell you how your kids should be raised.
By spending $70,000 of the mandatory dues of its members, to oppose what 110 world experts have endorsed as best for children, shows the State Bar Association of North Dakota is no different than any other industry lobbying organization, concerned only with the financial interest of its members and not for North Dakota children.
So the only question is, should you vote with 110 world experts who have no financial interest, or the attorney group in North Dakota who’s spent a fortune trying to buy your vote.
We think it’s an easy decision.
Vote YES on MEASURE 6!
