Glenn Grothman - expert on marriage who has never been married.
The Republican’s war on women has taken a frightening new turn in Wisconsin. A new bill, introduced by State Senator Glenn Grothman (who has never been married and has no children), is an amendment to a previous bill, and would require that the state’s Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board (CANPB) emphasize single parenthood, through public awareness materials, as a contributing factor to child abuse.
Yep, the right’s new boogeyman is the single mom.
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:
8 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.
Section 3. 48.982 (2) (gm) of the statutes is amended to read:
13 48.982 (2) (gm) Provide, for use by the board in its statewide projects under sub. (5) and for use by organizations that receive grants under subs. (4) and (6), educational and public awareness materials and programming that emphasize nonmarital parenthood as a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect and the role of fathers in the primary prevention of child abuse and neglect.
Now, one could read this law isn’t specifically aimed at targeting women, but what are the stats for single parenthood:
Mothers accounted for the majority of custodial parents (82.6 percent) while 17.4 percent were fathers, proportions statistically unchanged from 1994.
So what we have here is the attempted criminalization of single parents, the vast majority of whom are women. I think it’s pretty clear that this is aimed at women, but you tell me.
In fact, Grotham seems to have a real stick up his ass about women, namely single mothers. In a four-page tirade/newsletter entitled, “How the United States and the State of Wisconsin are Working to Encourage Single Motherhood and Discouraging Children in 2-Parent Families,” Grotham fretted about the loss of the traditional family, comparing it to Marxism:
“The family is the center of a free and independent society. This is why the abolition of the family was a goal of Karl Marx and has been for Atheistic Socialists ever since.”
He then made one of the weirder accusations that I’ve heard:
“The Left and the social welfare establishment want children to be born out of wedlock because they are far more likely to be dependent on the government.”
I know, it doesn’t make sense to me either.
But let’s just call this bill what it is: the slut-shaming of single mothers and the attempt to slap a big, fat “A” on their chests, brought to you by some right-wing dude who doesn’t care about jobs, or the economy, but is instead obsessed with women’s vaginas.
I don’t know what’s wrong with these Republicans and their unhealthy fixation on all things vagina, because I’m not a mental doctor, but I do know that this kind of obsessive concentration is starting to feel more than a little psychopathic, if not downright predatory.
About Beth
I don’t know what’s wrong with these Republicans and their unhealthy fixation on all things vagina, because I’m not a mental doctor, but I do know that this kind of obsessive concentration is starting to feel more than a little psychopathic, if not downright predatory.
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Duh? lol
“…nonmarital parenthood as a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect and the role of fathers in the primary prevention of child abuse and neglect.”
I would seriously like to get on a plane, fly to WI and hurt this guy really really bad. The abuse in MY family STOPPED when the father left the picture. And I would suspect that is the case in a large majority of families.
Just let me break one of his kneecaps… please!
LOL Steve — As a blog we cannot advocate for the physical injury to any individual. But if you get video…please share it with us! Have a great flight to Madison!
So do we also take them from military moms who lost their spouse? This is ignorance all the way.
Maybe they need to make stronger laws on dead beat parents, So the single parent may have a little more money to help their children. There have been single parents since Adam and Eve. Remember God was a single parent. I am tired of this attack on women. Do they forget with out women there will be no births of children. They are so ignorant. How can they say they love women and keep going after them?
“…emphasize nonmarital parenthood as a contributing factor to child abuse and neglect and the role of fathers in the primary prevention of child abuse and neglect.”
Right, because MEN are the answer to all our problems??
Don’t get me wrong, I love men, I love my husband, I’m rather fond of my children’s fathers. But this law seems to specifically state that single parenthood is evil – no matter the reason for single parenthood (whether out of wedlock birth, death of 1 parent, divorce, or the causes of any of these) and seems to state pretty flatly that not only is single parenthood in and of itself abusive, but that if stupid abusive single moms were just smart enough to keep the fathers of their children in their lives (preferably by staying married to the them apparently), then we would not abuse our children.
A smart woman who knows her ex loves her children will keep them in each others’ lives, no matter the reason for separation or divorce.
I got news folks. Abuse is not caused by divorce, in fact, it is often the cause OF divorce. And staying in an abusive relationship, marriage or not, is not good for children, whether they are the ones specifically receiving the abuse or not. I have seen some father-child relationships improve AFTER the divorce because fathers wake up to the fact that they have limited time with their children and make the most of it.
This man is an ignorant jerk with no business advising anyone on the subject of marriage or parenthood, and anyone who listens to him is a fool. Why am I not surprised that this came out of Wisconsin?? Thankfully, the people in Wisconsin are starting to turn the jerks out and I wish them much luck before it becomes a crime to spit on the sidewalk!
Blame the drugs and booze for abuse Not single moms my ex took my son telling the judge he had a job and could support him better. He remarriec and threw my son out. who had to go to live with his grand parents turned to drugs and stealing.
They wouldn ‘t let me have him. now he is addict hooked on meph.