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Massachusetts Action Alert—We Need Democrats & Independents to Post Comments and/or Attend Meetings in Favor of Shared Parenting

3528Short Version: If you’re a Massachusetts Democrat or Independent, click here, go to the bottom of the page and post a comment explaining why you believe the Massachusetts Democratic Party should formally endorse Shared Parenting at its State Convention on June 6, 2009.

If words fail you, see the three suggested messages at the bottom of this blog post. All comments posted on http://massdemsplatform.blogspot.com will become part of the testimony considered by the Massachusetts Democratic Party in revising its Platform.

Medium Version: Do the short version above first. Also, 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 Democrats and Independents 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.

Full version: Fathers & Families has shown that the public believes in Shared Parenting. Our 2004 Shared Parenting ballot initiative was approved by an 86%-14% margin. We got over one-fourth of the Legislature to co-sponsor our Shared Parenting bill. We obtained a favorable editorial for Shared Parenting in the Boston Globe. We made Shared Parenting the # 1 issue on Governor Deval Patrick”s website, and we got the Governor to tell the Legislature that if they pass Shared Parenting, he will sign it.

Now we want the Democratic Party to endorse Shared Parenting by putting a Shared Parenting plank in their platform this spring. The platform will express the Party”s goals for the next four years.

Our members have been attending most of the Democratic Party’s Platform Hearings for the past week, and the feedback we have been getting has been very positive. The Party knows we are there and that we care, and we want you to join us both by sending an email supporting shared parenting, and/or by attending a small meeting in or near your town in the next week.

We believe that the plight of divorced noncustodial parents is one of the great civil rights violations of our era. We believe that a presumption of Shared Parenting is imperative for our children, our families, and our nation’s future. Unless there’s considerable pressure, it is not likely that the Massachusetts Democratic Party is going to adopt Shared Parenting at its June 6, 2009 convention in Springfield. But when the political parties open up discussion of their platforms or public concerns and we don’t show up, we instantly discredit ourselves. When politicians do hear our concerns, they often wonder, with good reason, “If this is such an important issue, why don’t I hear about it?” We need to make sure they hear about it.

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 Democrats and Independents to attend any or all of the meetings listed below to show support for shared parenting. Many of you responded to our Action Alert last week and attended meetings–to learn more, click here.

If you can help (or if you have any questions), 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.

The Democratic Party Platform hearings we’d like you to attend are listed below. For details on the hearings, see the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s calendar page here.

Meeting Times & Locations

March 24
Tuesday

Cambridge Ward 6 Platform Hearing
7:00 PM
Location: Youville Hospital Cullinane Ctr, 1575 Cambridge St

Stow Platform Hearing
7:30 PM
Location: Randall Library, 19 Common Rd, Stow, MA 01775

March 25
Wednesday

Boston Platform Review Meeting
12:00 PM
Location: SEIU Local 615, 26 West Street, 2nd Floor, Boston

Watertown Platform Review Meeting
6:00 PM
Location: SEIU Local 509,400 Talcott Street, 2nd Floor, Watertown

Northfield Platform Hearing
7:00 PM
Location: Dickinson Memorial Library Community Room

Brookline Platform Meeting
7:30 PM
Location: Devotion School Library, 345 Harvard Street, Brook

March 26
Thursday

Cambridge Platform Hearing
6:00 PM
Location: Andala Coffee House 286 Franklin St Central Square

March 27
Friday

Platform Hearing in Boston
6:00 PM
Location: Islamic Center of Boston 100 Malcolm X Blvd Roxbury

March 28
Saturday

College Democrats Platform Hearing
2:00 PM
Location: Boston University- Room B-12; 725 Comm. Ave, Boston

Again, for details on the meetings, click here.

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.

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