Reid bill would cut child abductions

Sonya Padgett

Friday, July 23, 1999 | 11:21 a.m.

Parents who do not have custody of their children will be prevented from illegally taking them out of the country if a bill sponsored by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., becomes law.

The legislation would require the signatures of both parents or guardians on an application as well as proof of custody before issuing a passport to a child 14 and under.

"We need to make it more difficult for would-be child abductors to obtain passports for children," Gibbons said in a written statement.

The legislation, inspired by the case of Mikey Kale, was passed by the House 418-3 Wednesday.

The Senate approved the "Mikey Kale" amendment in June.

"Mikey Kale's story has a happy ending, but there are thousands of other cases like his which end in tragedy or heartbreak," Reid said. "We need to stop these abductions before they begin."

On Feb. 14, 1993, 6-year-old Kale was abducted by his biological father and taken to war-torn Croatia. Kale's parents were divorced and his mother had sole custody of him.

The boy was eventually returned to his mother, but only after an extensive effort.