Supporter's of father's rights in child custody cases have planned a rally for June 15th in Cheyenne.

Event co-organizer Arthur Cook said Monday 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 says 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.

Cook said even now "we have a battle in front of us" in getting fathers treated fairly in Wyoming custody cases. The June 15th rally is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. in front of the Wyoming Supreme Court building, followed by a march to the Laramie County Courthouse.

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