Letters to the Editor for Tuesday, Dec. 9

Don’t blame Baumgartner

Don’t blame Baumgartner. He received a majority of the votes, which is democratic, and he is representing those (people and PACs) that provided the money to get him elected. We now have tariffs (taxes) which eliminated the soy bean sales, provided $40 billion to Argentina to help them with their soy bean sales, cut funding to eliminate health insurance and increase prescription costs, fired food inspectors, eliminated USAID, denies climate change, eliminated wind and solar support, reduced FEMA support for natural disasters, reduced National Park funding, working to eliminate entirely the Department of Education, denies vaccines, named our Defense Department a War Department, unwavering support of Israel over Palestine and Russia over Ukraine, blows up and kills people 1,700 miles from the U.S. without legal justification, pardons convicted drug trafficker that oversaw 400 tons of cocaine entering the US, has given a voice to Christian nationalists, racists and misogynists, was convicted of 34 felonies, declared bankruptcy six times, uses ICE and the military to implement his racist and misogynistic views by arresting and deporting people without due process. Rep. Baumgartner is culpable in this activity, but he has the support of those that give him money and those that vote for him. The real problem is not Baumgartner but rather those who voted him into office and continue to support him. Elections have consequences. If you don’t like what is happening, please vote and support a candidate that believes in doing things and not just blindly following a cult leader.

Joe McIntire

Spokane

Washington’s relocation law tearing families apart

Washington parents are losing meaningful contact with their children not because they are unfit or unsafe, but simply because the other parent wants to move away. This is the reality created by RCW 26.09.520, the relocation law enacted in 2000.

The statute includes a presumption that relocation should be allowed unless the opposing parent can prove harm. This burden routinely overrides other parts of Washington law that should protect children. RCW 26.09.002 says children have the right to frequent and continuing contact with both parents. RCW 26.09.187 directs courts to create parenting plans that support strong relationships and minimize disruption to a child’s stability.

Yet the relocation presumption often causes these protections to be ignored. When courts default toward approving a long-distance move, children lose their routines, their communities, and the consistent daily contact that the law says should be preserved.

Once relocation is approved, the parenting plan is rebuilt around airline schedules instead of child development needs. Parents who coach sports, help with homework, attend medical appointments, and provide daily stability can see their time reduced to holidays and summers.

There is a better model. In 2018, Kentucky adopted a presumption of equal shared parenting and saw conflict fall, litigation drop, and relocation disputes decline. Parents cooperated more because both remained central in their children’s lives.

Children deserve stability and meaningful relationships with both parents. Washington should re-examine RCW 26.09.520 and bring the law back into alignment with RCW 26.09.002 and RCW 26.09.187.

Benjamin Larsen

Leavenworth