quote:
Originally posted by Shoalanda:
I had never heard of any of these people until I was contacted by the young man's father. The grandfather has contacted me several times. His son has not. The grandfather has started a Facebook page on the matter. His son has not. I have not seen or received any communication from the son on the matter. That would have made some difference in my opinion of the young man's maturity.
I also have a screen shot of the young man's Facebook page in which he shows membership in many alcohol-related organizations, including one that advocates liquor be served 24/7 on college campuses. Remember, this young man has not attained legal drinking age as of yet. His father, again I say, his father contacted me about this saying his son was not aware he was a member of these groups and had removed them when they were called to his attention. If he doesn't know what groups he is a member of, how should we expect him to have the basic knowledge to raise a child.
A case from about two years ago is very similar. In that case, a couple, as I recall mid to late 20's, were not married, but were living together in what had been a committed relationship. They broke up, and the woman did not tell the man she was pregnant. When the biological father discovered the existence of the child, he went to court and had the adoption negated.
At that time, the biological mother stepped in and demanded custody, which she was given. Does this young man (or his father) not think the same will happen here?
I am extremely sorry for the boy's situation, but he showed no maturity when he used no protection during a sexual encounter with someone he cared nothing for. He's lucky he didn't contract AIDS.
If Judge Sandlin's decision is overturned, and if the biological mother does not then take the child, I certainly wish the young man well. He has a lot of growing up to do.
I want to add that I support committed, mature fathers 100% in their quest to attain joint custody. I support the person who initiated this post. It is an entirely different situation.
Your assumptions are ridiculous. Basing maturity on what facebook groups he may have been in, really? Is he not allotted the freedom to speak out, even if he isn't 21 yet?
You, yourself, said you didn't know him; yet you are so against him obtaining custody of his son, based solely on what you saw on one of the friend networking sites? That's absolutely ludacris.
I don't know the poor guy, nor the mother, nor any of the family members (at least to my knowledge), however, I still feel he has a right to his child.
How do you know, for certain, that the child was conceived through no usage of a birth control method? He might have used a condom, and we all know that those are not 100% effective at preventing pregnancy- not to mention if it breaks after the 'crucial' moment; odds go up on pregnancy. You seem to assume a lot on this post thus far, and I haven't read it all yet.
However, he might not have used a contraceptive, what does that have to do with this, really? Except for the fact that both the mother and the father, both young, were either not educated to use one, or thought "it'd be ok" (like many teens do).
It has absolutely nothing to do with this, or his maturity now. And should not have any bearing on this case one bit. The fact that you are mentioning it, is just a ploy to muddy the waters or cover up a bias that you seem to have.
The guy has already (from what I read) saved up over 30 grand for court costs, is attending college, and wants to be this child's father. How does that not scream maturity. It does to me, since he is /only/ 20 years old, and is doing all this for his child.
*shakes head*
I wish this man the best of luck in this case. I really hope that he is able to obtain custody of his son, and continues working hard to make life better for both of them. My hat is off to him.
~Amanda