Lyons man seeks family law reform

John Murtari has been peacefully protesting. And time and time again, he is peacefully arrested.

Since the courts allowed his ex-wife to move out of New York State with son, Domenic, Murtari has been trying to have Family Court Laws investigated and reformed. He has spent many hours carrying a photograph of his son, walking the hallways of the Syracuse Federal Building and the Onondaga County Courthouse. He is pleasant, quiet and does nothing to disrupt the area when he protests.

His actions have gained media attention throughout the state, and his internet-based group, Kids-Right.org, is a brief feature in this month's issue of Yahoo! Internet Life magazine.

Murtari says he patterns his acts of civil disobedience after such people as Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Saying that his circumstances are not unique, he and other members of Kids-Right.org would like reform at both the state and the federal levels. Their preferred solution? The right to have family hearings heard by a jury.

Until recently, Murtari was a Baldwinsville resident. But finances have forced him to return to his Lyons home, where he temporarily resides with his 83-year-old mother.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Murtari said, "My obligation is to Domenic. I can either accept (their decision) or peacefully continue to assert the truth, in hopes that something will happen."

Something happened. By 2 p.m. yesterday, Murtari had been arrested again when he attempted to demonstrate at the Federal Building.

If you would like to read more about Murtari's struggles and those of others like him, you can visit the site at www.kids-right.org

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