METRO NEWS THURSDAY • December 28, 2000 Fathers challenge custody traditions Judges are accused of following stereotypes in favoring mothers. Christopher Quinn - Staff Thursday, December 28, 2000 Jack Beavers of Acworth, who feels left out of his children's lives after a family split, believes Georgia's judges need to catch up to the times. Judges give women primary custody of children in the vast majority of cases because of old-fashioned family stereotypes, Beavers says. "They still have the stigma that the mother should gain custody just because she is the mother," he said. He points to a U.S. Census study released this year that says women get custody 85 percent of the time after divorces. Beavers and Tony Zizza of Austell, a coordinator for the American Coalition for Fathers and Children, have lobbied legislators in the past few weeks for changes such as making judges presume in custody cases that parents should share custody. They believe that could balance fathers' rights against a tendency of giving custody to mothers. Zizza said he knows bringing those changes will take time, but, like Beavers, he is spurred on by his own loss of the custody of a child. "You are trying to be a parent, and all you get is this every-other-weekend routine," Zizza said. Rep. Jim Martin (D-Atlanta), who met with Beavers and Zizza last week, said he doesn't doubt that judges make an occasional bad call in a custody case, but he doesn't think forcing shared custody is a cure for the problem. Martin, a lawyer, said Georgia has let judges decide custody based on what they believe is in the best interest of the child, despite what one parent or the other wants. "It's about as objective a standard as you can use," he said. "Though it's an imperfect system, it has worked pretty well throughout the history of the state." Martin said he believes fathers get a fair chance and said more fathers are getting custody now than in the past. Christine Stadler of Atlanta, Beavers' attorney, has represented men and women in custody fights. Though the law says each parent must be considered equally, her experience has been that it's an uphill fight for a father to get primary custody. "I truly believe there is a different standard for men," she said. "What we are talking about is a way to change society's way of thinking, and how do you change that? The law is there. The problem is, does it get applied appropriately? I don't believe so, and I don't know how you legislate that." Zizza said he and other fathers won't wait for legislation. He organized a protest outside the Gwinnett County Courthouse last summer to bring attention to his cause and is planning one in Cobb County this spring. Beavers, who met Zizza this fall, says his experience is spurring him to join the actions. "I'm doing all this because I love my kids, and I want fathers to have just as much a chance to gain custody as mothers do," he said. > ON THE WEB: To read a census report on child support and custody, go to: www.census.gov/prod/2000pubs/p60-212.pdf American Coalition for Fathers and Children: www.acfc.org -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [fapt] AJC article Date: Thu, 28 Dec 2000 11:26:48 -0500 From: Perry Eidson phopte@t... Reply-To: fapt@egroups.com Organization: Emory NetCom To: nodebt@b... Congratulations to Jack Beavers and Tony Zizza in getting their story into the Atlanta Journal-Constitution this morning. It is on page 3 of the metro section. Check it out online at http://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/ajc/epaper/editions/thursday/local_news_a3a4aee1325501b900c7.html