This week, fathers throughout the country are headed to Washington, D.C. to lobby for equal parenting rights.
Fathers here in the metro have shown their solidarity through advocacy and outreach on social media.
Chad Kolb lives in Warrensburg, Missouri. He spends a lot of time at the park with his 8-year-old daughter. The same is not true for his son.
"I've not really seen my son for 6 years," said Kolb.
A separation from the child's mother led to a costly custody battle and lots of lost time.
Kolb supports Missouri's new 50/50 parenting law. It gives both the mom and dad equal rights to their children following a divorce or separation.
Kolb also follows Kash Jackson's "Restoring Freedom 2016" journey to Washington, D.C. The navy veteran is on a 13-day campaign for parental rights. After serving 20 years in the Navy, Jackson said he wants to spend more time with his kids.
"For the last 6 months, I've only seen my children 30 hours in 6 months. I was never charged with any crime, convicted of any crime," said Jackson.
Jackson called Missouri's 50/50 parenting law a step in the right direction but said more needs to be done.
On September 1, Jackson embarked on a 3,000-mile cross country journey to 12 state capitals. His journey will end at the White House on September 11. They want the family courts to uphold parental equality and Constitutional rights.
"As a movement, we want our constitutional and God given rights to raise and parent our children to be protected. We don't want our children monopolized and used for states to bring in money," said Jackson.
For more information on the "Restoring Freedom" movement click here.
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Lisa Benson can be reached at lisa.benson@kshb.com.
