Parents Without Rights

Parents Without Rights is a political interest and support group based in Florida, United States that campaigns for the reform of family law. It was founded in 1991 by a group of Kennedy Space Center Scientists led by Peter T. Wilson, who felt that the Florida's Family Courts did not consider them competent to be active Father and Parents, or have custody of their children, when their marriages ended in divorce. In 1995, they were reorganized, the website created, a newsletter created by Dr. Grayson Walker.

Florida law
In a recent study of cases involving contested custody in Broward, Palm Beach, and Dade Counties, the mother was awarded residential custody in 96% of all contested cases. Although the Florida Court usually grants the father visitation rights, the group argues that this "turns the Father into a visitor in the lives of his child(ren)".

Parents Without Rights argues that unless one parent can be proven to be unfit and dangerous to the child(ren), anything less than 50/50 parenting is child abuse. They argue that children's fundamental rights are protected only when both parents are treated as equals, starting with equal time with the children.

The standard visition of the Florida courts consists of alternating weekends and a few holidays; this amounts to about 14% of the child's time. Parents Without Rights argues that this standard visitation does not allow enough time for the non-custodial parent to form a meaningful relationship with their child.

Constitutional law
Their argument for equality and equal parental rights is based upon the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. This position was affirmed by the United States Supreme Court in Troxel et vir. v. Granville, at pg 67. The Court stated that parenting is a fundamental right protected by the US Constitution. In Troxel, the court wrote: "The liberty interest at issue in this case -- the interest of parents in the care, custody, and control of their children -- is perhaps the oldest of the fundamental liberty interests recognized by this Court." The argument that the constitutional rights of parents entail a presumption of equal parental rights when parent divorce has been developed in a numerous law journal articles.

Activism
Parents Without Rights has testified many times before the Florida Legislature's committee on families and children. Representative Randy Ball introduced the Uniform Parental Rights Enforcement and Protection Act at the behest of Parents Without Rights. They worked with the National Congress of Families and Children for the passage of the 1998 Visitation Reform Act.

In 1998 and 99, the group mounted a successful campaign to prevent the appointment of Jessie Preston Silvernail to the Fifth District Court of Appeals.

Parents Without Rights is a member of the Million Dads March. Thomas Lessman is a member of the Board of Directors of Parents Without Rights.

In 2006, the organization worked with Republican State Representative Ellyn Bogdanoff. Parents Without Rights held "meet and greet" parties for Ms. Bogdanoff in the home of Dr. Walker, assisted in fund raising, and contributed to Ms. Bogdanoff's 10 point margin of victory on November 7, 2006.

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