You think the War on Women isn’t real or doesn’t affect you? Think again.
NOTE: this happened back in March but I missed it and suspect many others did, too.
Wisconsin Republican Senator Glenn Grothman has completely gone off the rails in the GOP’s War On Women. Back in March, he introduced legislation that classifies single parents and other non-married couples as contributing to child abuse.
Wisconsin state Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) has introduced a bill demonizing single parents by classifying them as child abusers.Senate Bill 507 specifically requires “the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board to emphasize nonmarital parenthood as a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect.”
A third of Wisconsin parents are single parents, but this law affects even more than that. The way the law refers to “nonmarital parenthood” also makes this applicable to non-married couples, including same-sex couples. S.B. 507 reads:
Section 1. 48.982 (2) (g) 2. of the statutes is amended to read: 48.982 (2) (g) 2. Promote statewide educational and public awareness campaigns and materials for the purpose of developing public awareness of the problems of child abuse and neglect. In promoting those campaigns and materials, the board shall emphasize nonmarital parenthood as a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect.
Section 2. 48.982 (2) (g) 4. of the statutes is amended to read: 48.982 (2) (g) 4. Disseminate information about the problems of and methods of preventing child abuse and neglect to the public and to organizations concerned with those problems. In disseminating that information, the board shall emphasize nonmarital parenthood as a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect.
There are, of course, plenty of men who are single parents or who are in “non-marital” parenting situations. But, less face it, this law inordinately affects women. Period.
Perhaps you think this bill won’t go anywhere. And perhaps you are right. But, keep in mind that this is Wisconsin, a state like Michigan where the Democrats have absolutely no power and the Republicans control everything.
Why would a Republican open this front in the War on Women? It’s because, as I have said before, they are drunk with power. they believe they can do anything. In the case of the War on Women, that means women must be subservient to men in all ways. These forced-birthers believe every pregnancy must result in a child being carried to term. These patriarchal puritans believe that women must get married if they become pregnant and must remain married. These denizens of the 18th Century were NOT kidding when they said they were “taking our country BACK.” They want to take us back in time as far as their laws will allow.
H/T: Leslie S.
[CC photo credit: Terry Alexander | Flickr]
