AG should argue for US grandparent rights

Hawaii’s attorney general said in Monday’s article that a scaled-back travel ban is illogical.

It’s interesting how politics shows its ugly face in public grandstanding for future political reasons by our elected and state representatives, because they are so blind.

I hear a big deal about visiting grandma and grandpa by illegal immigrants and others coming to visit this great state.

Hawaii by law does not recognize grandma or grandpa in this state when it comes to family court. The attorney general conveniently forgets the legal definition of family.

Hundreds of children born in this state are ignored by this state when it comes to grandma and grandpa’s child rights. Many parents are drug addicts, alcoholics, and purely neglect of their infants and children, and it disregards grandparent rights daily in family court.

It’s disgusting and distributing to see our state officials argue about the rights of people who are not citizens and potential terrorists with open arms, but denying flat out that same right of grandpa and grandma who are US citizens here in Hawaii.

This is not joke, check it out for yourself: “Hawaii grandparents’ rights; Supreme Court finds statute unconstitutional,” By Susan Adcox, updated Aug. 6, 2016.

The article states: “Hawaii has a statute allowing grandparents to sue for visitation with grandchildren. That statute has been rendered worthless, however, by a 2007 court case declaring that the law as written is unconstitutional. Thus Hawaii has no workable grandparent visitation law.”

Therefore, following state law, per the Hawaii State Supreme Court, I respectfully disagree with the attorney general; and grandparents should be included in the travel band (period). Please do not argue for political reasons “family connections for non-immigrants” for a benefit that is tantamount to outright discrimination against US citizen grandparents in Hawaii.

JR Olivares is a resident of Kailua-Kona.