The Boston Globe called on the legislature and the Governor to convene a Shared Parenting Task Force (From the website of Fathers and Families)

Write The Boston GlobeIn an editorial this week, The Boston Globe called on the legislature and the Governor to convene a Shared Parenting Task Force. This could prove to be a breakthrough on shared parenting in Massachusetts, and then, like marriage equality, in the rest of the country. It is the first time The Boston Globe has taken a stand on a Task Force for shared parenting. The Boston Globe said there is “a genuine need to examine the workings of family courts,” Also, “It’s time to break the contentious impasse [on this issue].”

This editorial will increase the pressure that Fathers and Families has been bringing behind the scenes for the Legislature to act. The Globe’s editorial is a direct result of YOUR past activism and support, as well as the activism of some who are outside of Fathers and Families

It is time to keep up the pressure! We want you to do two things:

1. For everyone: Show the Globe that a lot of people care deeply about this issue. Write a letter to the editor of The Boston Globe agreeing with their call for a Shared Parenting Task Force. Keep your letter to 200 to 250 words. Tell The Boston Globe how important shared parenting is for children and the need for genuine reform in our family courts. Women in particular should take this action. Now is the time to push this issue to the front burner.
   
   Keep your comments positive. Do not criticize the Globe for not writing the perfect editorial. Write from the heart, and tell them BRIEFLY what your experience has been. Some additional themes are suggested below. Do not get off track with other subjects, such as child support or feminism, etc.
   
2. For Massachusetts residents only: Here is the second thing you need to do. Contact your Representative and Senator on Beacon Hill (not Washington, DC) and tell them you agree with The Boston Globe’s call for a Shared Parenting Task Force. Ask your Senator and Representative to encourage the Judiciary Committee’s Chairs, Senator Cynthia Stone Creem and Representative Eugene L. O’Flaherty, to appoint a Shared Parenting Task Force. The voters of Massachusetts are looking to them for their leadership.
   
   Again, keep it brief, positive, upbeat, and free of sarcasm, bitterness or anger. Speak from the heart, and tell them your experience. You will probably be connected to a Legislative Aide rather than the elected official. That is standard practice, not a brushoff, so do talk to the Aide. Email us and let us know what they said.
   
   Find your senator's and representative's telephone number and email address.

When you write the Globe and contact your legislator, here are points you can choose from to make. Remember to include information about your children.

• Fathers and Families agrees with The Boston Globe editorial seeking a task force to review custody laws.
• This is an ideal opportunity for Massachusetts to lead in developing true, working, shared parenting legislation.
• It would also be a major breakthrough for gender equality in the family courts in America.
• Through a 2004 ballot initiative, over 86% of Massachusetts voters have already stated they want shared parenting.
• Anything less than shared parenting penalizes innocent children and separates children from loving fathers, grandparents, and other relatives.
• Your name and your town, so they know where you vote.

Our children need us to act NOW.

Ned Holstein, MD, MS
Founder and Chair of the Board