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In
her essay below,
she makes clear
the devastation
that the Bradley
Amendment can cause
- not only to military
reservists, but
to all fathers who
experience a sudden
drop in income.
The Bradley Amendment
[42, U.S.C. 666(a)(9)(c)]
forbids any state
from allowing a
retroactive reduction
in child support,
no matter what the
reason - incapacitation,
disease, loss of
job, or being activated
by the National
Guard to Iraq. The
courts may only
consider a modification
from the time it
was filed in court,
so if a person forgets,
is unaware, or simply
does not file, he
(or occasionally
she) is out of luck.
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One
of the most egregious
examples of the
application of the
Bradley Amendment
was a Texas case
in which a black
janitor, Clarence
Brandley, was falsely
convicted of the
rape and murder
of a white girl.
After nearly 10
years in prison,
he was proven innocent
and released, only
to be hit with a
nearly $50,000 bill
for failure to pay
child support. A
spokesperson for
the Texas AG's Child
Support Division
commented that the
office was only
enforcing the law
and that the obligation
had not gone away!
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Here
is what McElroy has
to say about the issue
and its impact on
reservists: |
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While
he was deployed
in Afghanistan,
a U.S. Navy Seal
wrote a lullaby
for his son Sean,
whom he calls "SS."
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The
song opens: |
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Rock
a bye SS/ ROCK Rock
a Bye/ you sang
to me each eve/
And you gave me
rolling rock a byes
of dreams I've yet
to dream. |
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Each
night I'd pray that
when I'd awake/ You'd
have safely ROCK'd
me home to the greatest
gift, the Lord hath
given me/ my little
son named Sean. |
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Sean
may never hear that
lullaby again, not
because his father
Gary died but because
Sean's mother relocated
him to Israel. She
visited family there
during one of Gary's
re-deployments and
simply stayed, seeking
a divorce from abroad.
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Gary
has unsuccessfully
battled the family
court system in California,
which has jurisdiction
over the divorce,
for almost two years
in order to gain some
access to SS. After
all, that same court
demands he pay hefty
child support. |
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"I
am paying $2,100 a
month not to see my
son," Gary told
Fox News in 2003.
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This
is the new face
of father's rights,
a face men's rights
activists are determined
you will see in
coming months: the
military man who
is "processed"
by the family courts
during his tour
of duty or upon
his return. A father
who returns "home"
to children he cannot
see and, often,
to support payments
he cannot make.
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"Sometimes
I wonder what I
risked my life for
[in Afghanistan],"
Gary told fathers'
rights activist
Glenn Sacks. "I
went to fight for
freedom but what
freedom and what
rights mean anything
if a man doesn't
have the right to
be a father to his
own child?"
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On
March 13, the men's
rights syndicated
radio show " His
Side" featured
Gary in a program
entitled "Two
Years into Iraq
War, Little Has
Been Done to Protect
the Rights of Military
Fathers." Gary
is not alone. |
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The
grassroots organization
American Coalition
of Fathers and Children
has just launched
a vigorous ad campaign
to educate the public
on how anti-father
bias in the courts
is destroying the
family. An ad currently
being prepared by
the ACFC highlights
the dilemma of military
dads who are victimized
by zero- tolerance
and unreasonable
legislation that
was passed to deal
with "deadbeats."
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Activists
are pushing the
image of the military
father who is victimized
by family courts
not merely because
it is true but primarily
because it is effective.
That image breaks
through the pervasive
cultural stereotype
that fathers who
lose custody or
become "deadbeats"
are uncaring, unfit,
wife beating, child-abusing
losers who deserve
what they get. |
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Do
uncaring and unfit
fathers exist? Absolutely.
But others fathers
resemble Gary -
a Navy veteran with
a perfect military
and civilian record.
It is his image
that father's rights
activists want you
to see. |
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Why?
Because to a large
extent, it is the
stereotype of the
loser or abusive
dad that permits
family courts, government
agencies and the
general public to
turn a deaf ear
to the three main
complaints of father's
rights activists.
These complaints
are: |
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Responsible
fathers are commonly
denied custody or
access to their
children, often
through the mother's
relocation Paternity
fraud goes unpunished
or even rewarded
by judges who assess
child support nevertheless
Child support standards
are unreasonable
By contrast, the
family court system
cannot ignore the
complaints of alienated
military fathers
with the same impunity.
For one thing, public
opinion will not
permit them to do
so. |
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An
indication of how
strong the public
backlash might be
came in the early
'90s with the Bobby
Sherrill case. Sherrill
wasn't a member
of the military
proper; he was a
Lockheed employee
and divorced father
working in Kuwait
when Iraq invaded.
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Sherrill
was held captive
by the Iraqis for
five months. Upon
his return to North
Carolina, he was
arrested for non-payment
of $1,425 in child
support that accrued
while he was a hostage.
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The
public backlash
passed, partly because
people assumed Sherrill
was an aberration,
a bizarre exception
under an otherwise
"good"
law. But Sherrill
was imprisoned because
of the same unreasonable
legislation that
returning military
fathers and every
other alienated
dad in America must
face. |
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Phyllis
Schlafly, who publicly
endorses the ACFC
ad spotlighting
military fathers
- blasts one particular
piece of legislation
in her Feb. 18 column
at TownHall, entitled
"Reservists
deserve protection
from family- court
mischief."
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She
writes, "The
Bradley Amendment...takes
us back to the cruel
days of debtors'
prisons. It requires
that a child-support
debt cannot be retroactively
reduced or forgiven,
and states enforce
this law no matter
what the change
in a father's income,
no matter if he
is sent to war...and
no matter if he
is ever allowed
to see his children."
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Consider
one example of how
the Bradley Amendment
impacts military
fathers. Reservists
typically assume
a sizeable pay cut
when they transfer
into military life.
But child support
is based on their
civilian salaries
and the Bradley
Amendment effectively
blocks readjustment
of that debt. |
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Thousands
of miles away and
out of communication,
such fathers are
vulnerable to defaults
that can lead to
financial ruin,
as well as the forfeiture
of passports, driver's
and professional
licenses. In some
states, a default
of over $5,000 is
a felony that includes
imprisonment. |
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Advocates
of the Bradley Amendment
maintain that taking
a rock-hard line
is necessary to
ensure that deadbeat
dads do not use
loopholes to avoid
their obligations.
But these advocates
are now arguing
against a very different
image of divorced
fatherhood: the
military dad. |
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He
voices a message
on behalf of every
alienated father.
Repeal the zero
tolerance laws that
have removed compassion
and circumstance
from family law.
Repeal the Bradley
Amendment; remove
the bureaucracy
that automatically
separates father
and child. |
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