Part 2: The
Congressman Who’s Fighting for Grandparents
by Kathryn
Urick
Published
Vital Connections
The Newsletter of the Foundation for Grandparenting
The Elder Teller
This is the final chapter of the profile of Mario Biaggi (see E.T. Feb. ’86). I hope you can remember reading about this veteran NY congressman of 16 years and his endeavors to protect the RIGHTS OF VISITATION between millions of grandparents and grandchildren.
He became involved when he received a note from a N.J. couple who were having trouble visiting their grandchildren. Mario discovered the problem was national in scope. as a result of “the most tearful and emotion-packed hearings he’d ever heard” his research began which resulted in the creation of the FIRST NATIONAL VISTATION RIGHTS ACT.
He met with other advocates of GP/GC; together they discovered GPs were losing contact with grandchildren when divorce or death disrupted the family unit. Grandparents were often unable to petition the courts. Biaggi found a wide variety of laws from state to state, enforceable in some but not in others.
In 1983, Biaggi introduced the first Congressional bill to create a national law. He is hopeful that the law will be passed sometime soon.
What motivates his interest? “The effect of grandparents on young children is
immeasurable … they (GPs) give selfless love, perpetuate a culture, leave
indelible impressions of warm, wonderful feelings and memories. To a child, these advantages are priceless.”
Biaggi also feels that GP live a fuller and better life when they are close to their grandchildren. “They see the children as extensions of themselves, and so, give freely,“ he declares. “I will continue to fight for these rights for as long as it is necessary.”