OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma State Senate unanimously approved a bill last week that further defines the conditions that grandparents may petition the courts for visitation rights with their grandchild or grandchildren.

House Bill 1682, co-authored by Sen. Earl Garrison, D-Muskogee and Rep. Wade Rousselot, D-Okay, requires a grandparent seeking visitation rights to a grandchild to show that the grandparent had a pre-existing relationship with the child that predates the filing for visitation and prohibits a court from granting such visitation if the parents of the child are married and object to such visitation.

“This bill isn’t about custody,” Garrison said. “This bill is about creating visitation rights for grandparents who have an existing relationship with their grandchild or grandchildren. There are a lot of grandparents out there waiting for this bill.”

Edwina Rice of Wagoner is a grandparent who applauded the passage of the bill. In 2005, her 2-year-old grandson Christopher Don Alexander, Jr. died after allegedly being beaten by his mother’s boyfriend, who is currently awaiting trial in Oklahoma County.

Rice said she previously had visitation with her grandson until December 2004 when she confronted her ex-daughter-in-law over what she perceived to be bruises on her grandson. She says she was then barred from seeing her grandchild again.

“The next time I saw him (February 2005), he was hooked up to life support in the hospital,” Rice said. “He was my angel. He was the light of my life.”

Rice said she talked to an attorney about pursuing legal action for visitation rights, but to no avail. “I went there and was told there wasn’t any grandparent rights,” Rice said. “I was told that my hands were tied.”

Rousselot said his office has received numerous phone calls and e-mails urging support for the bill.

“We are getting phone calls and e-mails from across the state and as far away as Houston, Texas on this issue,” Rousselot said. “When we have parents split up and one or both of those parents don’t care about the welfare of the child, we have provisions in this bill for grandparents with pre-existing relationships to have a right to visitation. “I’m thrilled that our grandparent rights bill passed.”

Rice thanked Rousselot and Garrison for their support on the bill and grandparents rights.

“I pray that no one else has to go through this,” Rice said. “This bill is a godsend. It allows us as grandparents not to be shut out of our grandkids lives.”

The bill is now headed to Gov. Brad Henry for his signature.

If approved, it would become law immediately.