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Glenn Sacks is a men's and fathers' issues columnist and a nationally-syndicated radio talk show host. His columns have appeared in dozens of America's largest newspapers.

Glenn can be reached via his website at http://www.
GlennSacks.com or via email at Glenn@GlennSacks.com

Guest Article...

NOW Leader Slams Glenn Over NY Daily News Column

Apparently my co-authored column NOW at 40: Group's Opposition to Shared Parenting Contradicts Its Goal of Gender Equality (New York Daily News, 7/27/06) didn't sit well with the leaders of the National Organization for Women. In the column we chastised NOW for its opposition to shared parenting. Mike McCormick, Executive Director of the American Coalition for Fathers & Children and I wrote:

"The National Organization for Women turned 40 this summer, and formally celebrated its anniversary at its national conference in July. NOW President Kim Gandy has proudly recounted her organization's successes in opening up opportunities for women, and says they are 'never giving up the dream of full equality for all.'

"Unfortunately, on some issues--particularly in family law and child custody--NOW's policies and actions contradict its ideals of 'full equality for all.' This is most evident in the group's dogged opposition to joint custody and shared parenting."

Marcia Pappas, the President of the New York state National Organization for Women, and Irene Weiser, Executive Director of Stop Family Violence, have fired back with their op-ed Fathers' Responsibilities Before Fathers' Rights. Their arguments against shared parenting are: domestic violence; fathers are greedy and don't want to pay child support; domestic violence; mothers shouldn't be forced to share custody with their children's fathers if they don't feel like it; domestic violence; shared custody legislation applies a cookie cutter solution, as opposed to current law which gives dads only every other weekend visitation yet somehow isn't a "cookie cutter" solution; domestic violence; domestic violence; and domestic violence. Read their full column here.

Our side handed Pappas and Weiser one last Spring, and the two are sure to note it. They wrote:

"Ironically, it is members of the so called 'father's rights' groups that have engaged in scare tactics. After the mandatory joint custody legislation, A330, was defeated in the New York legislature, NY State Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver received a threat from the co-director of the father's rights group of NY State, an affiliate of McCormick's national organization, implying there could be violence if joint custody legislation is not passed."

What really happened was that a member of a New York father's group wrote an asinine but completely nonthreatening letter to the legislators in Albany after Darren Mack murdered his wife back in June. Like any smart politician, Sheldon Silver, a prominent New York legislative opponent of shared parenting, played it for all it was worth, pretending to be "threatened" by the letter. Now Pappas and Weiser are also exploiting it, and I can't really say I blame them.

(Incidentally, the shared parenting bill we fought for was not "mandatory joint custody legislation"--it would've created a presumption of shared custody for fit parents).

Pappas and I have clashed on numerous occasions in the past. We dueled in a point/counterpoint in the Albany Times Union in March over A330, the New York Shared Parenting bill, and also debated on Fox News' Day Side the previous year.

During our unsuccessful Campaign in Support of New York Shared Parenting Bill (March 7, 2006 - April 25, 2006) Pappas was the opposition's main point person. After we launched the campaign in support of A330, the National Organization for Women and Stop Family Violence counterattacked, both launching action alerts and campaigns against the bill. The number of calls and letters we generated greatly dwarfed those of our opposition--see NY Assemblywoman on NY Shared Parenting Bill: Many Letters in Support, Few Opposed, for example--but we were defeated anyway.

Mike McCormick is the Executive Director of the American Coalition for Fathers and Children, the world’s largest shared parenting organization. Their website is www.acfc.org.

Glenn Sacks' columns on men's and fathers' issues have appeared in dozens of America's largest newspapers. Glenn can be reached via his website at www.GlennSacks.com or via email at Glenn@GlennSacks.com.

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