According to County Commissioner Scott Martin, State Senator Mike Brubaker will hold a mid-October meeting with local civic leaders, including the Commissioners, to assess citizen concerns regarding the use of Protection From Abuse orders (PFAs) in Lancaster County.
Describing the scheduled gathering, Martin said, “There are two ways you can address these kinds of issues. You can address them through the court process and appeals, or…you can address them from an advocacy standpoint in a legislation fashion.” Martin said that Brubaker will be present to represent the legislative angle of this discussion. Also to attend the meeting are District Attorney Craig Stedman and County Sheriff Terry Bergman, according to Paul Roland, a children’s rights activist who has recently spoken with Brubaker on this issue.
PFAs are frequently submitted by women alleging spousal abuse. The orders can effectively remove the alleged abuser from the home, demand financial support, and cut off communication between the alleged abuser and children. These orders are issued twice as often in Lancaster County than in York County, and some activists have cited this as evidence of a flawed system. In August, the group Daddy Justice provided the Commissioners with three consecutive presentations to address these concerns.
Roland, who participated in the Daddy Justice presentations, said that those August appearances did not directly result in the October meeting; although he maintained that, without the organization’s persistence, the issue would not likely have come to the attention of elected representatives like Brubaker. According to Roland, most leaders have been very receptive to calls for reform.
Martin assured Roland that his complaints—as well as those from other Daddy Justice representatives—have been duly noted by the Commissioners: “We are aware of your concerns, as we talked about them. We will have a very thorough meeting….The Senator, I’m sure, will have the legislation that governs [PFAs] currently, and that’s something that will be a point of discussion. And there will be advocates at the table…sharing their concerns about the system.”
Martin later clarified to NewsLanc that the primary purpose of the meeting will be to consider citizen complaints, not necessarily to produce or promote any future legislation. The leaders will address the matter as they would any other issue evoking such public complaints.
I met with Senator Brubaker on the 4th of September. Our meeting was mostly about the issue of PFAs.
The Senator took the time to listen and even asked me what I would like to see done about the abuse of PFAs.
I have met a few politicians in my day, however I never met anyone quite like our Senator Mike Brubaker. He really cares about the people he represents and I left his office feeling like he was going to address everything I had concerns about. It was days later that his office called and informed me that the Senator was bringing the important players all together to discuss this matter…
I can not help but to be impressed by this man! Many people had complained about this PFA issue for years but nothing was ever done!! Senator Brubaker only had to be asked one time and he is on it like no one has ever been before.. I feel that every voter in this area needs to know that this is a man will always do the right thing!
Thank you Senator for your hard work and for caring!
I agree with what Senator Brubaker and Paul Roland are doing about this issue. I too have experienced concerns regarding the use of Protection From Abuse orders. As a Father I am intimate with the pain that is caused by this. Its a great thing when a leader is willing to tackle important issues head on. I commend Senator Brubaker for stepping forward and taking this issue on. I also commend Paul Roland for taking time out of his daily life to offer his support on this issue.
Thank you Senator Brubaker and Thank you Paul Roland!