Sorry about the information overload in the first post - there are times
when I just wanna shoot my mouse.. Occasionally it loves to grab way more
then is needed at times. This was one of them... Below is a "corrected
copy" so ya don't have to wade through it all...
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http://www.glennsacks.com/enewsletters/enews_3_7_06.htm
Shared Parenting Showdown
March 7, 2006
Shared Parenting Showdown--Your Emails Wanted
New York's Shared Parenting Bill has reached a critical point and we want to
help give the bill a strong push forward.
New York is a battleground state for shared parenting and fatherhood. Family
law has been in the spotlight there, as the New York Matrimonial Commission
has held hearings on family law across the state. The Commission recently
recommended no-fault divorce for New York.
A330, the New York Shared Parenting Bill, is sponsored by the Coalition of
Fathers and Families New York, the New York affiliate of the American
Coalition for Fathers & Children.
What the Bill Would Do
Today joint custody is rare in New York and sole custody for mothers
is the norm. A330 would "require the court to award custody to both parents
in the absence of allegations that shared parenting would be detrimental to
the child." It would place the burden of proof that shared parenting would
be detrimental where it should be--on the parent requesting sole custody.
The bill also establishes an order of preference for custody, the top
preference being joint custody. If the court decides against joint custody,
it must state its reasons.
How to Take Action
The bill is slated to be heard by the New York State Assembly's
Children & Families Committee within a few weeks. Nearly three dozen New
York State Assemblypersons have signed on to the bill as sponsors or
co-sponsors, giving the bill momentum. This momentum will be lost if the
bill dies in committee. That's why I want all of you to write to the
committee members with your support for this bill.
According to FAFNY, letters and calls from anywhere in the country
help because they give the bill attention and show the broad national
support for shared parenting.
Like California, New York is a battleground state for family law
because what happens there has a great impact on the family law of other
states. A victory on A330 would reverberate across the country, aiding in
ways large or small every child of divorce.
I want a letter from every individual on this list, no matter what
state you live in.
Hearing from so many of you over the past several years, it would be
hard to put into words the amount of pain and misery caused by our current
family law system and its sole custody, win/lose orientation. Now is your
chance to help change the system.
We Can Win
The battle for A330 won't be easy but you have helped win great
victories in the past and can do so here, too. For example, in 2004 we
mobilized over 2,000 people to defeat a California bill which would have
given custodial parents almost unlimited right to move children out of
noncustodial parents' lives.
Last year we helped the California Alliance for Families and Children
push through SB 1082, a bill to help noncustodial parents who serve in the
Armed Forces. We have had numerous other successes.
How A330/Shared Parenting Helps Kids
Numerous studies show that shared parenting is what's best for kids.
To cite one, Robert Bauserman, Ph.D, conducted a meta-analysis of 33 studies
between 1982 to 1999 that examined 1,846 sole-custody and 814 joint-custody
children. Bauserman found that "Children in joint custody arrangements had
less behavior and emotional problems, had higher self-esteem, better family
relations and school performance than children in sole custody
arrangements."
Who Opposes A330?
A330 is opposed by the usual suspects--feminists and divorce
attorneys. The New York Chapter of the National Organization for Women and
the National Coalition for Family Justice oppose A330 and instead advocate
de facto automatic sole custody privileges for mothers under the pretense
that it is what's best for children. In reality, what's best for children of
divorce is that we protect their loving bonds with the two most important
people in their lives--their moms and dads. The New York State Matrimonial
Bar Association has also expressed opposition to the bill, though they have
not yet formally opposed it.
Some of you may have noticed a few weeks ago that NY NOW president
Marcia Pappas wrote a column on family law in the New York Times in which
she cited husbands who wanted divorces because dad's "girlfriend is
pregnant." This is typical of the contempt and disregard which feminists
show for divorced dads--are we going to allow them to make our family law?
A Long Struggle
New York shared parenting advocates have been waging this fight for a
long time. In 1980, for example, they succeeded in passing a shared
parenting bill similar to this one. Then-Governor Hugh Carey vetoed it. In
2002 I co-authored a column about a previous New York Shared Parenting
bill--Can Abolishing Sole Custody Curb Divorce? (New York Sun, 10/2/02). In
the column we discussed how unfair the current system is to fathers. We
wrote:
"'I walk a tightrope every day, just so I can stay a part of my young
daughter's life,' says Jerry, a 38 year-old engineer from San Diego,
California. 'If I have an argument with my wife, she spreads the divorce
papers out on the living room table and begins to fill them out. There's no
compromising with her--I either accept her decisions or she threatens to
divorce me. If she does, she'll get custody of my little girl and I doubt
she'll even let me see her, much less play an active role in raising her'...
"Both Jerry and his wife know the grim fate that often awaits a
divorcing dad. Courts rarely grant sole custody or even joint physical
custody to fathers, and standard visitation is just a few days a month...
"The problem is that my wife knows that the family court system puts
her in complete control," Jerry says. "She feels she has nothing to lose in
a divorce, so she has no incentive to work our problems out. But I'll lose
the most important thing in the world to me--my little girl."