SUMTER, S.C. - A Sumter lawmaker has pre-filed a bill to strengthen the rights for grandparents to ask courts for visitation with their grandchildren.

Rep. David Weeks said the current law makes it too tough for grandparents to seek court-ordered visitation.

Currently, grandparents can petition for visitation if one or both of the parents are dead, divorced or living apart.

"The child sort of becomes an unwitting toy in a game," Weeks said.

Weeks, D-Sumter, said he decided to sponsor the bill because South Carolina's growing older population should be better represented. He said his grandmother was a strong influence on him and he would hate to see a situation where a grandparent wasn't allowed to see a grandchild.

A U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2000 struck down a Washington law allowing visitation for grandparents as overly broad. State supreme courts have come down on both sides of the issue since then.

The state AARP gets a few calls from grandparents who are suddenly cut off from seeing their grandchildren, spokeswoman Teresa Arnold said.

But a much bigger concern is the number of grandparents who are the primary caretakers for their grandchildren. More than 50,000 grandparents in South Carolina are raising their grandchildren, and they are often lacking in resources, Arnold said.

Carrie Sinkler-Parker, who works with grandparents support groups across the state for AARP, estimates she has received less than a dozen calls this year from grandparents seeking access to their grandchildren.