Short Version: The Massachusetts Democratic Party is holding a series of meetings to help form its new Party Platform. Fathers & Families is organizing activists to attend the Democrats’ local Platform Hearings and ask them to include Shared Parenting. We need people who consider themselves Democrats to attend the meetings in their areas listed below to show support for shared parenting. If you can help, please call Fathers & Families ASAP at 617 542-9300 or write to adminfaf@fathersandfamilies.org. We also urge you to call and bring friends who are sympathetic to Shared Parenting.– Dr. Ned Holstein.
Meeting Times & Locations
Tues. 3/17/09
Westborough
7:15 pm, Forbes Community Building 9 E. Main St.
Sudbury
7:15 pm, First Parish of Sudbury, 327 Concord Rd.
Wed. 3/18/09
Stoughton
7:00 pm, Stoughton Public Library
Peabody
7:00 pm, AOH Hall, Lowell St.
Thurs. 3/19/09
Acton
6:30 pm, Acton Memorial Library, 486 Main St.
Boston
6:30 pm, 500 Cambridge St., Allston
Fri. 3/20/09
Framingham
7:00 pm, 200 West Farm Pond Rd.
Sat. 3/21/09
Lowell
9:15 am, Radisson Hotel/Independence Grill in Chelmsford
Plainville
10:00 am, Plainville Senior Center, 9 School St.
Weston
2:00 pm, 87 School St.
There are more Platform Hearings next week–see the Platform Hearing Calendar on the Massachusetts Democratic Party website here.
Longer version:
Woody Allen once said that “80% of success is showing up.” One of the reasons why the Shared Parenting movement has not been successful is that we have not properly engaged in the political process. One aspect of this is that whenever there is an issue affecting family law, our opponents almost always show up. We often don’t.
John Walsh, Chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, writes:
The 2009 Massachusetts Democratic Convention is just around the corner. This year”s issues convention offers us a historic opportunity to focus, as Massachusetts Democrats, on who we are and what we stand for.
The 2009 Platform will be crafted using similar principles that were used in crafting the National Platform that was adopted at the 2008 National convention…All testimony we receive by the hearing deadline will be posted on our website for anyone to access and comment on. Our goal is to make the drafting of the platform as inclusive and transparent as possible.
We need people who consider themselves Democrats to attend any or all of the meetings listed below to show support for shared parenting. If you can help, please call Fathers & Families at 617 542-9300 or write to adminfaf@fathersandfamilies.org. We also urge you to call and bring friends who are sympathetic to Shared Parenting.– Dr. Ned Holstein
Some of our suggested messages include:
Message #1
When a couple divorces or separates, it”s important that both parents remain a meaningful part of their children”s lives. Too often one parent–usually the father–is allowed only a few days a month with his children. We believe that the Massachusetts Democratic Party should endorse a presumption that after divorce, assuming both parents are found to be fit, children will spend substantially equal time with each parent.
Message #2
Children of divorce or separation are very vulnerable, and it”s imperative that the loving bonds they share with both parents be protected. Too often one parent–usually the father–is pushed to the margins of his children”s lives. We believe that the Massachusetts Democratic Party should endorse shared parenting–the concept that children spend substantially equal time with each parent after divorce. Research clearly shows that children fare best in shared parenting arrangements.
Message #3
I am a divorced father and I believe in shared parenting–the concept that children spend substantially equal time with each parent after divorce. Research clearly shows that children fare best in shared parenting arrangements. To pick one example of many, an Arizona State University study of college students who had experienced their parents” divorces while they were children found that over two-thirds believed that “living equal amounts of time with each parent is the best arrangement for children.” We believe that the Massachusetts Democratic Party should endorse this, for the sake of our children.