Reply To Brown

Dear Representative Brown,

I want to thank you for taking the time to write back. I have written to Mr. Coughlin and Mr. Otterman to express my concerns.
We fully understand that a child should never be placed in an environment that is detrimental to them. The problem lies in the way that Domestic Relations judges are treating fathers. According to Census Bureaus statistic , men are granted custody in only 14% of the cases brought before them. The majority of those, 13%, are cases where the mother is no contesting the custody. That leaves only 1% of the time that fathers are granted custody. You can not tell me that 86% of the males that go through a divorce are a danger to their children. Something is wrong with the way that judges are treating fathers.
Personally, I am in a shared parenting plan and have my son with me every other week. But I have had to fight hard to keep him with me. Within 100 yards of my home are two other fathers that have had to fight to get their children because of the mistreatment my their mothers. I have a friend in Indiana that had proof that his ex-wife was mistreating his child , yet she was awarded custody. It wasn't until the child was beaten and hospitalized for the beatings and malnutrition that he was granted the custody that he should have had in the first place.
Are we an exception to the norm? I doubt it. What we are fighting for is to be treated fairly in the courts and that the courts follow the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution and provide equal treatment for all. The statistics show clearly that they are not doing that.
When I went through my divorce and told my attorney that I wanted custody, I was told that there was no way that I would be granted custody. I asked way and was told because I was a father. I asked what that had to do with getting custody and was told that our local court would not grant custody to a father. I decided to fight for what I had a right to as a parent and a citizen, equal treatment. I got it only because I fought and fought hard. It should not have been this way and it should not be this way now.
This is not just a local problem, it is a national and international one. We can not do anything about this on the international scale but you can help us to get the equality nationally that we deserve. I ask that you and your fellow Congressional Representatives find a way to help us before a children are hurt more than they have been already.
Any information as to who to direct us to would be helpful. I also welcome you to contact me if you are in the Akron area. We, until then will continue to spend our word.

Respectfully yours,

Ray Lautenschlager