Dedicated To Madison Tenn
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September 30th, 2008
Daddy Activist Endures Thunderstorms On Crane
Donald Tenn is a California father who says hehad to take action for his daughter Madison. He started his fourth day this morning on a wet construction crane in Columbus Ohio alone. Last night police warned of thunderstorms. John Fowler, national coordinator for Fathers 4 Justice was able to talk activist father Paul Fisher down.
Tenn refused. I have nothing to lose, he said through a walkie-talkie. Earlier he told me, I’ve followed the law, been bounced back and forth between states, and been falsely accused of domestic violence. I finally won visitation in Illinois. The judge even reprimanded her mother. I had one visit. That’s it. She’s able to use services funded by the Violence Against Women Act to illegally keep me from my daughter.
Until Madison’s mother illegally abducted her to Illinois, Tenn was her stay-at-home parent. It’s Madison he worries about, not himself. He says she’s being hurt by the family court system and he has to protect her. A member of Fathers 4 Justice, the gender-neutral civil rights group fighting for equal parental rights, he says he won’t come down until Governor Schwarzenegger agrees to a nonpartisan investigation into the family court system. Calls to the Governor’s office have yet to be returned.
Tenn’s Sacramento phone rings off the hook at all hours of the day. Friends say he always makes time to listen to parents trying to avoid or recover from the devastation of losing contact with their children. When he isn’t grieving for his own little girl Madison, he says, his heart aches for the thousands of other parents he knows who are experiencing the same thing.
Tenn has been sending Madison packages in the mail about 3 times a week. I’ve probably sent over 300 packages so far, he told me recently, they include books, healthy snacks, small toys and stickers. She loves stickers.
When asked if he wants to keep Madison away from her mother when this is resolved, he says, no. I’ve always wanted equal custody, equal parenting and equal responsibility, for each of us. Asked if his case was unique he replied, I’ve traveled the country talking to other parents. And what I hear all the time, from mothers and fathers, is that they want equal parental rights, equal physical and legal custody.
Jugs For Justice – September 28, 2008
Fathers4Justice Activists Atop Crane In Ohio
Donald Tenn is a man of conviction. Since the day I met him, one thing, and one thing alone has guided his every move. Tenn is a Daddy who misses and worries about his daughter Madison every moment of every day.
Madison and Tenn are victims of Madison’s mother Shannon and the disaster called the family court system. Shannon illegally abducted Madison from California to Illinois. When she learned the law would make her return Madison, she immediately filed false allegations of domestic violence against Tenn. As I described here, not only has Madison’s mother broken the law, she’s being rewarded for her actions.
Today he took his cause to new heights. Tenn, from California, in a Spiderman suit and Paul Fisher, from Ohio, in a Batman suit, both members of Fathers4Justice, are currently atop a 100 foot crane outside the Ohio Stadium in Columbus. They’ve unfurled a 40 foot banner that says STOP THE WAR ON FATHERHOOD.
There are at least 100,000 people passing underneath on their way to the Ohio State football game. Tenn describes at least 100 police, sheriff and SWAT officers gathering below. He adds that a police helicopter keeps buzzing very close by.
When asked to comment, John Fowler, National Coordinator for F4J said, These fathers have waited years for change. Their pleas have fallen of deaf ears when all they are asking for is to be able to love a raise their children. Why should children be denied the right to have two loving parents?
Tenn has spent the last couple of years volunteering as a board member and California coordinator for Fathers4Justice. Fathers 4 Justice originated in the UK a few years ago. Founder Matt O’Connor recently announced he was shutting down his group, again. There are now F4J branches in several countries including Canada, where family rights activists Rob Robinson (Batman) and Kris Titus (Wonderwoman) regularly make the news with similar stunts.
Describing the phone calls he receives at all hours of the day Tenn says, We get dozens of new members every month, just from California. Each parent thinks their case is unique. They don’t realize that I’ve heard the same story hundreds of times.
He says he understands that they need to get it off their chests.And fathers aren’t the only parents who are victims, he adds, mothers and grandparents call me too. It iss estimated that by 2010 one quarter of America’s noncustodial parents will be female.
Tenn says making any parent noncustodial is wrong. Unless they’ve been convicted of a crime or don’t want to be part of their child’s life. He even says he wants Shannon to have equal access to Madison, after she gets out of jail.
Shared parenting and shared custody are supported by over 85% of the population. Why then can’t these parents and legislators get laws passed to guarantee equal parental rights to all fit parents? The answer is very simple. There are protective mother groups who are financially and politically supported by feminist and domestic violence organizations.
They often use lies and debunked facts to convince legislators that passing these laws will hurt children. As I described here I watched as they lied under oath to derail AB1307, the 2005 California shared parenting bill. Less than 5% of divorces are high conflict. Sixty to eighty percent of all domestic violence charges are found to be unnecessary or false. Isn’t it time to have laws that fit the facts?
Most families would benefit from shared parenting. Studies show it actually reduces conflict. When confronted about the controversial nature of the demonstration Mr. Fowler replied What would you be willing to do if a corrupt court denied you access to your children?
Day 1 : Fathers-4-Justice OSU Crane Protest
Fathers 4 Justice protests on a construction crane near the Ohio State University stadium during the Ohio State vs. Minnesota football game.
Day 3 : Fathers-4-Justice OSU Crane Protest
Parental rights activist Paul Fisher a.k.a. Superman climbs down after 3 full days on a crane near the Ohio State University stadium. Donald Tenn a.k.a. Spiderman remains atop the 150 ft structure during storm.
Ohio State Crane Demonstration
Donald Tenn, Paul Fisher spreading the message that “Children need both parents”
Day 4 : Fathers-4-Justice OSU Crane Protest
Fathers 4 Justice activist, Donald Tenn of California, ends his four day protest for parental rights dressed as Spiderman atop a construction crane at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.
Raw video of F4J Spiderman and Superman on top of a 175 ft boom crane in front of 100,000 Ohio State and Minnesota football fans. Hanging is a 40 foot banner that was hauled up the crane in the middle of the night without indecent. The mobile police headquarters was unknowing set up under the crane while the superheros hid on a platform to wait until the crowd below grew from large to huge.
F4J UK Storms the Lincoln Memorial Aug-17-07
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