Sen. Jacques' Investigation of GALs Is Opposed

Sen. Jacques' Investigation
of GALs Is Opposed
Fatherhood Group Accuses
Senator of Bias Against Men

The Fatherhood Coalition voiced its outrage last month at the choice of Senator Cheryl Jacques to head an investigation into the training of the court-appointed investigators who make custody recommendations to judges in child custody litigation. They are known as "guardians ad litem."

The fathers worry that putting the important decision of the custody of a child into the hands of a lawyer or social worker by appointing them as a GAL is not what courts should be doing. In addition, they believe that Sen. Jacques is an advocate against all men.

Their outrage was expressed in a strongly worded letter to Senate President Thomas Birmingham and Rep. James Fagan, chair of the Post Audit and Oversight Committee.

Sen. Jacques is the Senate chair of the Post Audit and Oversight Committee, the only legislative committee with subpoena power that has virtually unlimited ability to investigate state agencies.

In the letter, the Fatherhood Coalition assert that Jacques has a history of favoring anti-father legislation and they accuse her of anti-male bigotry. They say she is unqualified to head up an investigation of "something as sensitive to us as the mechanism by which denial of custody rights to fathers have been institutionalized in this state."

They say, "Senator Jacques is widely viewed as fatherhood's biggest foe in the State House. She has actively pursued legislative initiatives that invariably harm fathers though always disguised as protecting women and children.

"Jacques is an orthodox victim-feminist. She perceives the relations between the sexes as one of power and control, rather than love, partnership and reciprocity. Her personal revelations this past year confirmed the suspicions of many that she has some deeply ingrained hostility towards men. Such a person should not be entrusted with the authority to effect policy on matters of family relations and the welfare of children."

The Fatherhood Coalition criticize Jacques for her sponsorship of the "Jacques/Cohen" bill, which became law in the last legislative session. They claim that the law "dumbed-down" the standards by which domestic violence should be considered in custody disputes. It replaced the words "domestic violence" with "domestic abuse," a fuzzy concept that is criticized by fathers rights advocates as merely a feminist definition of annoying male behavior that can be adapted to fit any male and deny them access to their children. The law also added a host of remedies available to judges from which to apply to "abusive" divorcing parents - a euphemism for fathers. As a result, programs such as the so-called "batterer's intervention" programs and supervised visitation centers are now institutionalized in Massachusetts divorce law.

The Fatherhood Coalition are calling on their members to refuse to offer input into the committee's investigation, as they do not wish to be perceived as validating the work of Sen. Jacques.

The Fatherhood Coalition are a statewide organization founded in 1994 that advocates for father and children's rights.