Noah’s Law one step closer to becoming reality - WKRN News 2

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A 3-year old boy abducted by his non-custodial father is influencing change at the state level.

Noah Clare was taken by his father last November which sparked a nationwide Amber Alert, crossing multiple state lines stretching from Tennessee to California.

It took 11 days for authorities to issue that alert because his case didn’t fit federal criteria. The Amber Alert system has four prongs (or guidelines) that must be met before an alert is issued. One of them is eminent danger.

In Noah’s case, they couldn’t prove he was in danger, which stalled the alert from going out. Noah’s Law would prevent that from happening.

The proposed legislation passed the Civil Justice Committee in a unanimous vote Wednesday. The effort is being led by Representative Johnnie Garrett.

“As a 3-year-old young boy, Noah didn’t have a voice, right? He wasn’t able to exclaim to others that he was in danger,” said Rep. Johnnie Garrett of District 45.

House Bill 2354 would help expedite the Amber Alert process for children at the center of active custody battles who are abducted by their non-custodial parent.

“It doesn’t change the criteria of the Amber Alert, but since Noah’s family was already in court, they already were before a judge in Sumner County,” Rep. Garrett explained. “What this does is if the non-custodial parent does not return the child to the custodial parent and 48 hours has passed and the child has been reported to the local authorities that Noah is missing, the judge can enter an order declaring that child in eminent danger.”

Noah’s family sat in the room as state lawmakers voted on their behalf. Their hope is for more tearful reunions sooner rather than later.

“Frankly, had it been in place when Noah was taken, instead of it taking nine or 10 days to get an Amber Alert issued, it might have only been four, maybe even only two,” said Gary Jaeckel, Noah’s step-grandfather. “I’m not sure that it will change the emotional impact of having gone through it. Our hope is though, that by having this mechanism in place, that other families will not have to wait as long as we did to have an Amber Alert issued.”

Noah’s Law will now have to pass the full floor in the House and the Senate before Tennessee Governor Bill Lee can sign the bill into law.

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source: https://www.wkrn.com/news/tennessee-news/noahs-law-one-step-closer-to-becoming-reality/

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