ly-Saturday, June 14, 1980-Page 11
Divorced
fathers
march on
Lansing
LANSING (UPI) - Divorced men
came to the Capitol with their backers
yesterday to deliver a pre-Father's Day
plea for reform in a legal system they
said has torn their sons and daughters
away from them.
About 100 persons, including a sub-
stantial number of women and some
children, lounged on the Capitol steps in
the warm late-spring sunshine listening
to speakers calling for more equal
treatment in custody and visitation
matters.
GROUPS INCLUDING the Michigan
Confederation of Divorced Fathers.
want changes in the friend of the court
system to put teeth in visitation orders
and establishment of the joint custody
concept under which both parents share
rights and responsibilities for rearing
their children.
Children "are the innocent victims of
this system called the circuit .court,"
said Al Lebow, president of the con-
federation.
"In matters of custody, a man's
chances are slim or none," he said,
claiming nationwide children go to the
mother90 per cent of the time.
. "DIVORCED FATHERS, as a matter
of fact, are treated pretty much as if
they were undesirable aliens by the
court systems," he said.
Michael Brown of Fernidale stood in
front of the Capita; carrying a sign
bearing a picture of a figure blindfolded
in the manner of American hostages in
Iran and reading "Day 298 since I've
seen my daughter."
Brown, a 27-year-old worker, said he
has been unable to see his daughter sin-
ce his ex-wife moved out of the state.
The friend of the court office will do
nothing to enforce his visitation rights
but write letters, he said.
Brown said his ex-wife told him "her
daughter didn't have a father."

MARTY CHAVKIN, LEFT, and Mark Seidenberg, co-producers of "The Gay Dating Game," pose in San Francisco with
host Bonnie Steiger. The show, San Francisco's answer to a popular TV program, debuted last night with young male
contestants selecting dates from equally male panel members.
'THE GA Y DATING GAME:'

Gay game show debuts
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Boy meets "I can't imagine this show offending using their own names.
boy in "The Gay Dating Game," an all- the community standards of San Fran- The choosers are provided in-
male version of a popular television cisco," he said, referring to the city's with questions, which Chavkin
show, reputation as the uncrowned capital of designed to elicit the real perso
Co-producer Mart Chavkin said the the country's homosexuals, and its potential dates.
format of the one-time-only cable general policy of permissiveness. Of- My favorite," said Chavkin,
television show - scheduled for broad- ficials estimate that some 15 per cent of were a potato, would you, bake
cast last night - was copied directly the city's 640,000 residents are gay. me, or mash me;'" Another
from the original, with one big excep- CHUCK BARRIS Productions in Los query, he said, is, "'Your r
tion. Angeles, producers of the original coming to visit. How do you
INSTEAD OF bachelor meeting show, is aware of the spinoff. Executive you're living with the boy fro
bachelorette in an atmosphere of sexy Vice President Bud Granoff sighed, the block?'
cuteness, Chavkin says boy will meet "Ahhh, San Francisco ... these people
boy and it will all be "in good taste." are running in some very tricky waters.
"We're doing it in the spirit of fun," I don't know how they can do that."
said Chavkin, who blamed San Fran- Chavkin said the gay show would
cisco's "psychotic community" for consist of three segments, in each of
several death threats and crank calls which one man would choose a date
he's received. from a group of three other men all

advance
said are
on within
"is, 'If I
me, fry
possible
mother's
tell her
om down

House committee OKs
'81 Saturday mail

WASHINGTON (AP) - Defying
Congress' new budget ceilings, the
House Appropriations Committee ap-
proved $500 million yesterday to keep
Saturday mail delivery in 1981.
The vote came after a battle between
two committee chairmen that wit-
nesses said sent one of them walking
angrily out of the committee meeting.
WITNESSES SAID Rep. Jamie Whit-
ten (D-Miss.), chairman of the Ap-
propriations Committee, argued the
House Budget Committee could not tell
his panel what to do. They said Rep.
Robert Giaimo (D-Conn.), chairman of
the House Budget Committee, called
that "unfortunate'',and walked out.

Giaimo later denied that he stormed
out.
"It was a stormy meeting," Giaimo
said. "The chairman of the Ap-
propriations Committee was taking out
after the Budget Committee. "The
Budget Committee just did what it was
told to do - balance the budget - and it
ill-behooves any committee to flout

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