Fathers' Rights Supporters Rally in Cheyenne [Video, Poll]

Supporters of father's right rallied in Cheyenne on Friday.

Event co-organizer, Arthur Cook, said that while mothers occasionally don't get a fair shake in child custody fights, the numbers show fathers overwhelmingly are treated unfairly. Cook said the goal of the rally is to make sure everyone gets treated fairly "because that overwhelmingly isn't happening now."

Rally co-organizer, Zachary Martin, said things have improved in Wyoming for dads over the past year, thanks in part to legislation passed during the 2018 Wyoming Legislature allowing for shared custody of children. Martin said prior to the passage of the legislation, which was sponsored by Rep. Jared Olsen [R-Laramie County], shared custody of children in divorce cases was generally only implemented with the mother's approval.

But he said the new law allowed for shared (also known as joint) custody not necessarily being contingent on the mother's approval, which he said is a step forward for Wyoming fathers in divorce cases.

The Wyoming Supreme Court recently issued a ruling allowing the new law to take effect immediately rather than having to wait until July 1, as is normally the case with laws approved during a session of the Wyoming Legislature.

But even so, Martin said Wyoming tends to lag behind most other states in terms of father's rights in divorce cases.