Fathers' rights movement in the United States

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The fathers' rights movement in the United States is a group that provides fathers with education, support and advocacy on family law issues of child custody, access, child support, domestic violence and child abuse. Members protest what they see as evidence of gender bias against fathers in the branches and departments of various governments, including the family courts.

Contents

The movement traces its roots to divorce and alimony controversies in the 1960s. Today, the modern fathers' rights movement generally focuses on issues regarding shared parenting while providing support and public awareness for fathers and children after a divorce or separation.

Different fathers' rights organizations may also advocate for non-married fathers' rights through lobbying efforts or news media outlets. Other advocacy topics include gender bias, both culturally and from within the legal system, visitation, adoption, maternal gatekeeping and parental alienation.

History

The modern fathers’ rights movement in the US emerged with the founding of Divorce Racket Busters in California in 1960 to protest California's divorce laws, which they claimed discriminated against men in alimony, child support settlements and in a presumption of maternal custody. The group expanded into other states, changing its name to Divorce Reform in 1961. [1] With the increase in divorce rates in the 1960s and 1970s, more local grassroots men’s organizations grew up devoted to divorce reform, [1] and by the 1980s, there were a total of more than 200 fathers’ rights groups active in almost every state. [2] These groups focused their actions on what they viewed as gender discrimination in family law by engaging in political activities such as lobbying state legislatures, filing class action suits, picketing courthouses, and monitoring judges’ decisions through “court watches”. [1] The 1990s saw the emergence of new and larger organizations such as National Fatherhood Initiative and the American Fathers Coalition. [2] Several unsuccessful efforts were made to found a national organization to which local organizations could belong. As a result, the movement remains mainly a loose coalition of local groups. [1]

Topics

Gender bias

Shared parenting

Visitation

Maternal gatekeeping

Parental alienation

Adoption

Scams and fraud

Federal laws

U.S. Supreme Court

Some states removed decisions of divorce, child custody and child support from Common Law courts and assigned them to courts of equity. Michael Newdow contended that the best interest of the child standard, as currently applied by family courts, violated the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. [3]

Bradley Amendment

Because the amount of federal funding to states depended on the amount of child support collected by the state, members of the fathers' rights movement allege that federal law (Title IV-D of the Social Security Act) discouraged laws creating a rebuttable presumption for shared parenting. [4]

Parental rights activists claimed that employees of the Massachusetts Department of Social Services (DSS) removed children from their parents without cause. [5] They add that these employees improperly received immunity from the Massachusetts Supreme Court, [6] threatened mothers with the loss of their children to coerce them into divorce [7] and to attend support groups. [8] They claimed that these support groups served the dual purpose of allowing associates of DSS employees to receive government funding for running the support groups, and allowing the DSS employees to gain information used to remove children. [8]

Female opponents at legislative hearings alleged harassment and threats of physical harm by advocates, [9] while members stated that the National Organization for Women and others had possibly fabricated the claims to get attention as part of a plan to paint non-custodial parents as extremists. [9]

State laws

South Dakota

In South Dakota, Senate Bill 74 was signed into law on March 11, 2014 [10]

Illinois

In Illinois, the following laws co-authored by Jeffery M. Leving were signed into law in 2009:

SB 1628, sponsored by Senator Iris Martinez and in the House by Representative Deborah Mell, accomplished two things: It amended the Paternity Act and other Acts to insure that both parties be informed to their right to DNA testing before paternity can be adjudicated either through a voluntary acknowledgment, court proceedings or by an administrative law judge. It also amended the visitation interference section of the Criminal Code and made it a criminal offense to deny the other parent their right to parenting time or custody time. Previously, only visitation interference was a crime. (Signed into law: August 11, 2009)

SB 1590, sponsored by Sen. Pamela Althoff and in the House by Rep. Sandra Pihos, and which passed unanimously, allows children and non-custodial parents to use electronic visitation technologies such as email, telephone, internet and video conferencing. Illinois became the sixth state to pass Virtual Visitation Legislation which could enable virtual visitation for incarcerated fathers. (Signed into law: August 11, 2009)

HB 4008, sponsored by Senate by Senator Martinez and Rep. Jehan Gordon, included the paternity provisions of SB 1628. It amended the Paternity Act to ensure that both parties would be clearly informed to their right to DNA testing before a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity is signed or a paternity order is entered. (Signed into law: August 14, 2009)

HB 2266, sponsored by Martinez and Rep. Ken Dunkin, amended the visitation interference section of the Criminal Code with the use of terms used in family cases today (i.e. parenting time and custody time). (Signed into law: August 25, 2009)

Massachusetts

Forensic investigator, Zed McLarnon, proved that Massachusetts family courts used phantom clinical evaluations kept in hidden files, secret hearings without the presence of both parents, and doctored of court hearing tapes. [11] A father's rights activist appealed to a Massachusetts state legislator who wrote an environmental law (named Anti-Slapp) intended to protect whistleblowers from punitive countersuits by corporations and which was rewritten by the Massachusetts Supreme Court to immunize mothers and social workers who file false allegations, noting that fathers have virtually no remedy for false allegations of abuse. [12]

In 2004, some Massachusetts voters were offered a chance to vote on a non-binding ballot question about creating a legislative presumption for joint physical custody. One such question was "Shall the state representative from this district be instructed to vote in favor of legislation requiring that in all separation and divorce proceedings involving minor children, the court shall uphold the fundamental rights of both parents to the shared physical and legal custody of their children and the children's right to maximize their time with each parent, so far as is practical, unless one parent is found unfit or the parents agree otherwise, subject to the requirements of existing child support and abuse prevention laws?" Of those voters choosing to answer the above or similar non-binding ballot initiatives, 84.5% approved. [13]

Wisconsin

Fathers' rights activists campaigned to change Wisconsin law, which allowed custodial parents to move up to 150 miles (240 km) away from their prior residence without informing the noncustodial parent, to create a rebuttable presumption that moves of greater than 20 miles (32 km) are not in the best interest of the children. [14]

Awareness

Advocacy

Media portrayals

Members of the fathers' rights movement criticized a 2005 New York Times Sunday Magazine article that began with the words, “…custody determinations are traditionally based on what’s in ‘the child’s best interest.’ But some fathers are now arguing – and agitating – for rights and interests of their own,” for creating a false dichotomy between children's best interests and fathers' rights. [39]

About a Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) documentary about children and divorce, stating members commented that unlike a previous PBS documentary, the show was balanced, but portrayed the movement as promoting conflict, adding that the average viewer did not distinguish conflict in the public sphere from conflict in the home, which could hurt children. [40]

Members also protested a Boston Globe article about a case in which a father successfully prevented a mother from moving children 70 miles away to another state. According to the campaigners, the article inappropriately linked the mixed feelings of the children to their inability to relocate with their mother and to the shared parenting arrangement rather than to divorce, adding that the reporter questioned the children about their living situation and thus exacerbated the conflicts felt by the children. [41]

See also

Related Research Articles

Family law is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations.

Child custody, conservatorship and guardianship describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and the parent's child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.

Child support is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child following the end of a marriage or other similar relationship. Child maintenance is paid directly or indirectly by an obligor to an obligee for the care and support of children of a relationship that has been terminated, or in some cases never existed. Often the obligor is a non-custodial parent. The obligee is typically a custodial parent, a caregiver, or a guardian.

Paternity law refers to body of law underlying legal relationship between a father and his biological or adopted children and deals with the rights and obligations of both the father and the child to each other as well as to others. A child's paternity may be relevant in relation to issues of legitimacy, inheritance and rights to a putative father's title or surname, as well as the biological father's rights to child custody in the case of separation or divorce and obligations for child support.

Shared parenting, shared residence, joint residence, shared custody, joint physical custody, equal parenting time (EPT) is a child custody arrangement after divorce or separation, in which both parents share the responsibility of raising their child(ren), with equal or close to equal parenting time. A regime of shared parenting is based on the idea that children have the right to and benefit from a close relationship with both their parents, and that no child should be separated from a parent.

The fathers' rights movement is a social movement whose members are primarily interested in issues related to family law, including child custody and child support, that affect fathers and their children. Many of its members are fathers who desire to share the parenting of their children equally with their children's mothers—either after divorce or marital separation. The movement includes men as well as women, often the second wives of divorced fathers or other family members of men who have had some engagement with family law. Most Fathers' rights advocates argue for formal gender equality.

The fathers' rights movement in Italy is dedicated to achieving equal parental rights and obligations and shared parenting of children after divorce or separation. It consists of a number of diverse organizations, ranging from social charities and self-help groups to civil disobedience activists. At the local level, organizations offer support to newly separated fathers, many of whom are highly distraught.

Joint custody is a court order whereby custody of a child is awarded to both parties. In the United States, there are two forms of joint custody, joint physical custody and joint legal custody. In joint physical custody, the lodging and care of the child is shared according to a court-ordered parenting schedule with equal or close to equal parenting time. In joint legal custody, both parents share the ability to make decisions about the child, regarding e.g. education, medical care and religion, and both can access their children's educational and health records.

Child custody is a legal term regarding guardianship which is used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent or guardian and a child in that person's care. Child custody consists of legal custody, which is the right to make decisions about the child, and physical custody, which is the right and duty to house, provide and care for the child. Married parents normally have joint legal and physical custody of their children. Decisions about child custody typically arise in proceedings involving divorce, annulment, separation, adoption or parental death. In most jurisdictions child custody is determined in accordance with the best interests of the child standard.

The National Parents Organization (NPO) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable and educational organization in the United States that promotes shared parenting. The organization focuses on family court reform, research, and public education with the goal to make shared parenting the general norm for separated parenting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tender years doctrine</span> Historic legal principle in English family law

The tender years doctrine is a legal principle in family law since the late 19th century. In common law, it presumes that during a child's "tender" years, the mother should have custody of the child. The doctrine often arises in divorce proceedings.

The fathers' rights movement has simultaneously evolved in many countries, advocating for shared parenting after divorce or separation, and the right of children and fathers to have close and meaningful relationships. This article provides details about the fathers' rights movement in specific countries.

The fathers' rights movement in Australia focus on issues of erosion of the family unit, child custody, shared parenting, child access, child support, domestic violence against men, false allegations of domestic violence, child abuse, the reintroduction of fault into divorce proceedings, gender bias, the adversarial family court system and secrecy issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeffery M. Leving</span> American divorce attorney and author (born 1951)

Jeffery M. Leving is an American divorce attorney and author who specializes in matrimonial and family law. He is known primarily for his vocal advocacy of fathers' rights and hosts two radio shows. His television and radio commercials are well known in the Chicago area.

The Canadian Children's Rights Council Inc. (CCRC); is a non-governmental organization that is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and was founded in 1991. The CCRC describe themselves as a nonprofit, educational and advocacy organization dedicated to supporting the rights and responsibilities of Canadian children and providing critical analysis of governments' policies at all levels of government in Canada.

A noncustodial parent is a parent who does not have physical custody of his or her minor child as the result of a court order. When the child lives with only one parent, in a sole custody arrangement, then the parent with which the child lives is the custodial parent while the other parent is the non-custodial parent. The non-custodial parent may have contact or visitation rights. In a shared parenting arrangement, where the child lives an equal or approximately equal amount of time with the mother and father, both are custodial parents and neither is a non-custodial parent.

Joint custody is a form of child custody pursuant to which custody rights are awarded to both parents. Joint custody may refer to joint physical custody, joint legal custody, or both combined.

Edward Kruk is a Canadian sociologist and social worker. He has conducted internationally recognized research on child custody, shared parenting, family mediation, divorced fathers, parental alienation, parental addiction, child protection, and grandparent access to their grandchildren. Kruk is an associate professor of social work at the University of British Columbia. He is the founding president of the International Council on Shared Parenting.

Kentucky House Bill 528 is a 2018 family law that created a rebuttable presumption that both parents' equal shared parenting time and equal parental decision-making are in the child's best interest. Signed by Governor Matt Bevin on April 26, 2018, it was the first such law for permanent child custody orders passed in the United States. A temporary order aided the law's passage of the shared parenting bill, House Bill 492, passed a year before. The law became a motivator for similar bills to be passed in other states.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Williams, Gwyneth I (2002). "Fathers' Rights Movement". Historical and Multicultural Encyclopedia of Women's Reproductive Rights in the United States. Greenwood Press. pp. 81–83. ISBN   978-0-313-30644-0.
  2. 1 2 Clatterbaugh, Kenneth (1997). Contemporary Perspectives on Masculinity. Westview Press. p. 70. ISBN   978-0-8133-2701-3.[ permanent dead link ]
  3. ↑ Newdow, Michael (2004-06-18). "Family Feud". Slate.Com. Retrieved 2007-04-30.
  4. ↑ Rogers, R. Mark. "ACFC presentation". American Coalition of Fathers and Children. Archived from the original (video) on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-03-18.
  5. ↑ Hession, Gregory (2003-01-06). "DSS Dirty Tricks Series". MassOutrage.Com. Archived from the original on 2007-04-12. Retrieved 2007-04-27.
  6. ↑ Baskerville, Stephen (2004-06-06). "MASSACHUSETTS' FAMILY 'JUSTICE'". NewsWithViews.com. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
  7. ↑ Baskerville, Stephen (Summer 2003). "Divorce as Revolution". The Fatherhood Coalition, also Salisbury Review vol. 21 no. 4. Archived from the original on 2007-04-03. Retrieved 2007-03-22.
  8. 1 2 Moore, Nev (2003-07-29). "Inside A 'Batterers Program' for 'Abused' Women". The Fatherhood Coalition. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  9. 1 2 Morgan Bolton, Michele (2006-04-21). "Custody Bill Fight Turns Frightful: Women's Groups Say They Are Being Threatened Over Their Stance On Legislation". Albany New York Times Union.[ permanent dead link ]
  10. ↑ "SB 74 provide for the consideration of joint physical custody of a minor". Archived from the original on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  11. ↑ McLarnon, Zed (2002). "Judicial Bias(?) - How It Works and How To Defend Against It". EJFI.Org. Retrieved 2007-04-26.
  12. ↑ Del Gallo III Esq., Rinaldo (2006-02-22). "Anti-SLAPP Abuse In Massachusetts". FathersUnite.Org. Retrieved 2006-05-16.
  13. ↑ Associated Press (2004). "Results of local, regional ballot questions". Boston.com. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
  14. ↑ Jeffery Leving; Glenn Sacks (2005-06-17). "AB 400 Will Help Wisconsin's Children of Divorce". Glenn Sacks. Archived from the original on 2007-02-10. Retrieved 2007-05-12.
  15. ↑ "Lansing to Washington D.C. Bike Trek for Equal Parenting! - Family Court Reports". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
  16. ↑ Diebolt, Dan. "Straight Up". YouTube . Retrieved 2007-08-04.
  17. ↑ Pederson, Robert. "Equal Parenting Bike Trek Part 1". Studio 1714. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
  18. ↑ Pederson, Robert. "Equal Parenting Bike Trek Part 2". Studio 1714. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
  19. ↑ Pederson, Robert. "cycling4children.com". Robert Pederson. Archived from the original on 2007-08-28. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
  20. ↑ "Glenn Sacks". Glenn Sacks. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  21. ↑ "F4J UK Storms the Lincoln Memorial Aug-17-07(1)". YouTube. 2007-08-18. Retrieved 2021-12-28.
  22. ↑ 2007 DC Rally
  23. ↑ Part I, Part II, "Michigan's 36th District Court - Willie G. Lipscomb, Jr". Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
  24. ↑ Tim McKyer
  25. ↑ Part I, Part II,
  26. ↑ Carol Rhodes video
  27. ↑ "Carol Rhodes Former FOC Enforcement Officer". youtube.com. Retrieved 2007-09-18.
  28. ↑ Carol Rhodes Barry County
  29. ↑ Jay Fedewa
  30. ↑ Larry Holland
  31. ↑ "Nationwide Blueprint". Archived from the original on 2007-06-14. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
  32. ↑ Glen Steil
  33. ↑ Rick Jones
  34. ↑ Fulton Sheen
  35. ↑ Robert Pedersen
  36. ↑ Charalambous, Mark (October 2006). "Bar Wars gets ugly" (PDF). The Fatherhood Coalition. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-07. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
  37. ↑ Johnson, Barb (2007-01-10). "Barb's Revised Appeal of the Judgment of Dismissal". FalseAllegations.Com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-05-16.
  38. ↑ Murtari, John. "Federal Civil Rights Action For Parents" . Retrieved 2007-08-05.
  39. ↑ "New York Times Press Gives Major Press Coverage for Fathers". Fathers & Families. 2005-05-08. Archived from the original on 2007-08-28. Retrieved 2007-05-27. and for failing to capture the human side of the fathers' rights movement.
  40. ↑ "Dr. Ned Holstein Critiques PBS Film "Kids & Divorce: For Better or Worse"". Fathers & Families. 2006-09-15. Archived from the original on 2007-08-28. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
  41. ↑ "Write On! The Boston Globe writes a biased article; 4 members respond with letters to the editor". Fathers & Families. 2006-07-26. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-05-27.
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