Local couple to debut documentary film on family court system 7 p.m. Thursday on YouTube
LANCASTER − A local couple has made a documentary film spotlighting the issues some may face in family court.
Elizabeth and Mike McNeese will release "We the Parents" at 7 p.m. Thursday on YouTube through their Echo Productions company. Just type "We the Parents" movie at YouTube to watch the film.
"We had both been married before and been through divorce," Elizabeth McNeese said. "Having gone through those experiences kind of opened our eyes to the realities of the family court system. So we became advocates back in 2020 and started getting involved legislatively. I've been working with National Parents Organization of Ohio and legislators to pass to pass an equal parenting bill, which with the general assembly is House Bill 14."
She said equal parenting means both parents will share children equally during a separation or divorce instead of one parent getting custody and the other only getting visitation rights. Elizabeth McNeese said equal parenting also means both parents share in making the decisions regarding their children.
She said the wish for family court reform led her and her husband to realize the best way to bring about impactful change was to produce a documentary on family courts. "We the Parents" looks at family courts across the country, not just Ohio. The McNeeses talked to various court officials and others in the family court system across the country when making their film.
"We are realizing that it's a systemic problem that we're seeing," Elizabeth McNeese said. "The system that we have is hurting more than it is helping. So we wanted to lay a foundation that explains to people how things work, what is family court and how it is hurting our families."
She said she hopes the film starts a discussion that will lead to the reformation of family courts. She also said the due process rights in criminal courts are not afforded to those in family courts.
"So what we're seeing is a miscarriage of justice and the public is completely unware," Elizabeth McNeese said. "So we want this to be an educational piece, first and foremost. But, ultimately, we want people to use this as a tool to have real conversations and take this film to lawmakers, to judges, to attorneys, to hopefully enact serious reform when it comes to family courts and how family courts treat our families."
A trailer for "We the Parents" is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1eRr6n_f1k.
There is also a Facebook page for the movie.
jbarron@gannett.com
740-681-4340
Twitter: @JeffDBarron
This article originally appeared on Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: Local couple to debut "We the Parents" at 7 p.m. Thursday on YouTube
