Noah’s law passes unanimously, changing criteria for AMBER Alerts - WHNT News 19
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — On Monday, a new law was approved unanimously in the Tennessee State House and Senate. Noah’s Law will now allow police to issue AMBER Alerts faster in some cases.
House Bill 2354, has been in the works for months, after 3-year-old Noah Clare was abducted by his non-custodial father in Sumner County, taking the child all the way to California.
Now, the Clare family is calling this new bill a step in the right direction. Moments after the final vote was cast, the family walked out of the House Chamber together, Noah’s mother holding his in her arms, as she held back tears.
“Just watching all the names turn green, and not one of them turn red, it was just incredible,” said Amanda Ennis, Noah’s mother. “It’s just an emotional rollercoaster, we are so happy but it just brings up a lot of memories for us.”
Back in November 2021, Ennis reported her son missing after Noah’s father didn’t bring him back at the scheduled time. Eleven days would pass before an AMBER Alert was issued because Noah didn’t fit the federal criteria.
“Ten days for an Amber Alert to go by under these circumstances were just too long, and I practice law in this arena, so I said I’m going to figure out how to make this better,” explained Representative Johnny Garrett.
Rep. Garrett introduced the bill after Noah’s family reached out to him for help. He told News 2 that’s what inspired him to move forward and make a change.
One of the guidelines for an AMBER Alert is the child must be in imminent danger. In Noah’s case, police couldn’t initially prove that.
“When the police are doing everything possible that they can in order to find him but there was one single thing left, one other tool in that toolbox and it was the AMBER Alert that they just didn’t have,” said Rep. Garrett.
Now, the new law will speed up the AMBER Alert process for children like Noah who are at the center of active custody battles.
“I’m just thankful that we are able to make a difference, that hopefully, another family won’t have to go 14 days without their baby,” said Edie Wainwright, Noah’s Grandmother.
“Well it’s a great win for families to make sure we know that law enforcement can use every single tool in their toolbox,” explained Rep. Garrett. “We want to make sure we bring kids home safe.”
House Bill 24-54, will allow for a family to reach out to a judge in order to declare a child to be in imminent danger after the child has been missing for 48 hours. The change will allow for an AMBER Alert to be pushed out if that is the only criteria missing.
The Clare family is hopeful the change will make a difference for families across the state.
“It’s a good ending to a horrible nightmare,” said Wainwright.
“Don’t quit fighting, get your baby back home, just keep sharing everywhere you can until they get that AMBER Alert out. That’s what we did, and that’s what brought him home,” explained Ennis.
Now, the bill will go to Governor Bill Lee’s desk to be signed into law.
source: https://whnt.com/news/tennessee-news/noahs-law-passes-unanimously-changing-criteria-for-amber-alerts/
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