Attention 2nd Wives! They're Paying Attention

The old media and the new are paying attention to the problems of lifetime alimony and the 2nd wives plight in Massachusetts. In addition to the Boston Globe op-ed, Elizabeth Benedict wrote a long piece for Huffington Post called "Never-Ending Alimony in Massachusetts," which has zoomed around the Internet on many sites. Benedict has given us permission to reprint the article, so feel free to send it around once you get it from Huffington Post (do Google search with the article's title in quotes.)

Earlier today, Mass Alimony Reform put out a press release to announce "Women Cancel Weddings Within Hours of Boston Globe Op-Ed" and that took has taken a fast trip around the Internet.

The news is spreading, and media outlets are listening. And there is MUCH sympathy for our cause. In fact, we have heard NO opposition.

This past Monday, two nights ago, Deb Scanlan, Steve Hitner (who founded Mass Alimony Reform) and attorney Tim Taylor, who drafted HR 1567, all appeared for 2 hours (!) on Boston's WBZ 1030AM radio, from 8pm to 10pm. A divorce attorney was also on hand, by phone, to consult with. Sparks flew. The phone lines lit up. People called in from all over the country, including Florida and Maine. No one called in to support the current law! Many women called in with a variety of stories: One to say she and her finance had just canceled their wedding, after reading the Globe Op-ed and realizing how vulnerable they made themselves by marrying. Another woman called in from Rhode Island to say she had not gotten alimony after a long, abusive marriage -- and she surprised everyone by saying how grateful she was she had NOT gotten it because it forced her to pull herself up from a terrible situation -- and today she is happy, in a career she likes (teaching), and she has shown her kids that able-bodied people take care of themselves, instead of remaining parasites, as the Mass system allows them to do.

The host of the radio show said he would invite Deb and Steve back in August. Good work!

Thank you for checking in. Please contact your legislators and tell them that Mass alimony laws are finally being exposed to the light of day -- and they need desperately to be updated and reformed. Tell your legislators that you support HR 1567, and you hope he or she will too when it is introduced again.

It's important that legislators know we are paying attention, even though it will be months before the bill can be reintroduced.

We'll let you know about upcoming media events.

Keep the faith.

A Mass Second Wife