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By TOM SHEEHAN | Tribune Capitol Bureau
MADISON — Michael Gough wanted to remain involved in his daughter's life when he divorced in 2003.
Problem was, his ex-wife was moving from Utah to Wisconsin, along with their 4-year-old daughter, while his profession kept him in Utah.
Gough, a computer security specialist, asked a judge to allow him the right to communicate with his daughter through a home computer video-conferencing system. But the judge had never considered such a request before, and his ex-wife resisted the idea, Gough said.
Gough persisted, and Utah became the first and only state so far to pass a bill clearly stating authority of judges to include "virtual visitation" as part of a divorce decree.
"It gave me the opportunity, at 1,000 miles away, to see my daughter and read her a story and see the haircut, which she gave herself," Gough said.
Now Gough, 41, has moved to Racine County to be closer to his now 6-year-old daughter, and is pushing for similar legislation in Wisconsin.
Gough prompted state Sen. Cathy Stepp, R-Sturtevant, and state Rep. Robin Vos, R-Racine, to introduce bills in each house of the Wisconsin Legislature. The bills state that if a court grants periods of physical placement to both parents, the court also may allow a parent a "reasonable amount of electronic communication at reasonable hours."
Some fathers' rights groups have objected to the move, fearing judges could use the technology to replace physical visitation or placement time.
But Wisconsin's proposal has gained support because it includes language that would prevent a judge from reducing physical visitation time for virtual visitation, said Tom Pfeiffer of Verona, who serves on the board of Wisconsin Fathers for Children and Families.
More important, the Wisconsin bill is written so a judge can't use technology to justify a "move-away" with the child by the custodial parent, Pfeiffer said.
As defined in the bills, electronic communication could include phone, e-mail, instant messaging and video conferencing. Many households already have computers and high-speed connections that can handle video-conferencing, which typically involves the addition of a camera and software package, Gough said.
Custodial parents might object to virtual visitation because it could be viewed as too expensive or detracting time from spent with the custodial parent, said Steven Gunn, who heads the family law section of the Utah State Bar. But those are issues the court can address as it considers many other factors, Gunn said.
Assembly Bill 531 and Senate Bill 244 could be scheduled for public hearings in August or September.
Tom Sheehan can be reached at tsheehan@madison.com or (608) 252-6198.
