Angry Father Cuffs Himself to Government Minister

[Brent]

Fri Nov 19, 9:36 AM ET
   
LONDON (Reuters) - A disgruntled British father handcuffed himself to a government minister on Friday in a bid to draw attention to a campaign for divorced fathers' rights.

Campaigner Jolly Stanesby pounced on Minister for Children Margaret Hodge at a conference in Manchester and snapped on a set of metal cuffs. Police freed the trapped minister with bolt cutters after half an hour.

Fathers 4 Justice, which has staged a series of similar high profile stunts this year, claimed responsibility.

The group is campaigning against what it says is a court bias toward mothers in determining how much access divorcing parents should have to their children.

In May, they breached security at the House of Commons and pelted Prime Minister Tony Blair (news - web sites) with flour-filled condoms.

In September a member of the group dressed as Batman climbed a ledge on Queen Elizabeth's Buckingham Palace residence and unfurled a campaign banner.

Last month, campaigners dressed as Batman and The Hulk scaled a rollercoaster in the seaside resort of Blackpool.

[StPaulieGirl]

What this man did was stupid, imo.  What you feel, shouldn't be how you act in public.  I'm embarassed just reading this, and only God knows what his kids think.  Basically this man fed the monster the ammunition to permanently silence him :-(

Somebody should come up with some universal guidelines...

[gr8Dad]

Because he protested?  Because he is concerned for the relationships between men and their children?  

You said, "What you feel, shouldn't be how you act in public."

The whole, "Suck it up, your a man..." line?

[wendl]

many boys, men are taught  the "suck it up your a man, don't cry bla bla bla"

Many men/boys now from divorced families are being taught to stand up and fight for your chlidren your rights, cry when you need to, which hopefully someday will help them if they have to go thru the legal system for family law.

**These are my opinions, they are not legal advice**

[Peanutsdad]

I stood up for my rights, fought in court.

I kept my bearing, my dignity and my composure.


I didnt "suck it up", I stood up and fought effectively.


I personally wouldnt resort to the type of tactics that are being used in UK,, BUT, extreme times or situations may call for extreme measures.

I'm not in their shoes, and perhaps civil disobedience is called for. It's just not MY particular style.

[MYSONSDAD]

You have to give them credit for the media attention they get...

Love the Santa idea!

[StPaulieGirl]

The approach he used was illegal and foolish.  Remember Martin Sheen?  He used to chain himself to fences around nuclear reactors.  What an ass.  The nuclear reactors are still there.

Here is a more recent example:  Bridget Marks.  It could be that she has a valid complaint, but all we see is a grown woman who can't control herself, and harms her kids with public tantrums.

What whole "suck it up, you're a man line"?  That wasn't the intent of my post.  Flour filled condoms, and assault on an officer of the court (?), isn't  going to do anyone any good.  People come off looking like goofballs, and they're trying to drive home the point that they deserve to be fathers to their children.  It's going to backfire.  Sure they're fed up, but there has to be better ways to advance their cause.

I hope I explained it better.  Here ya go: Man chains himself to the magistrate in protest.  Children's mother says, "see, I told you he was a nutcase"!

[wendl]

well I know my prior paralegal (passed away last dec) did a foolish thing similar to this in front of his local court house, which did not help his case, he learned to play the game and prior to his death was starting to get more time with his kids. Thus he became a paralegal to help other fathers in cases with the famliy law system. In helping others he helped himself.


**These are my opinions, they are not legal advice**