Just When You Think You’ve Heard It All: Putative Father Registries

Over half the states in the U.S. have some form of Putative Father Registry. What are Putative Father Registries? Males must register themselves and their sex partners (only if they’re not married to them) every time they have a sexual encounter. Why? If the male is not registered and a pregnancy results from his sexual experiences then he has no paternal rights to that baby.

Can you imagine the high school jock, after making out in the backseat of his car, pulling out his laptop or his cell phone to register his encounter with one of the cheerleaders? How many men do you know would trot over to the nearest computer to fill out a form, then print and mail it to register the tryst he just had with a woman who is not his wife? And that’s the best case scenario for registration. You need to read this humorous article on one man‘s attempt to comply with the law in Ohio. It’s not so funny implications could be a reality. In Virginia, the men have within 10 days of the birth to register. That’s if they’re told of a birth. Why do we make it difficult for children and fathers to have loving relationships?

The Putative Father Registry does not establish legal paternity. The man’s name is not added to the birth certificate through the registries. Men would still have all those forms to fill out and probably take a paternity test.

At first blush I want to laugh my ass off and start questioning the IQ of the bright-spot who thought this up. OH MY GAWD! The reason I’m not laughing at this ludicrous legislation is because I see the insidiousness of it. What kinds of information are the men requested to fill out? If you live in Virginia, then when you register you must provide:

• social security number;
• driver's license number;
• phone number; e-mail;
• home address; employer;
  
• height weight;
• hair color;
• any identifying marks (remember that lizard tattoo you got on a dare?);
• location of the act;
• plus the mother’s identifying information.

Well at least they didn’t ask what position(s) you used: was that missionary or doggy? That’s probably in the next form update.

These registries are invasive databases for both men and women’s private information. And the women’s personal information is compiled without their knowledge or consent. The registries ask for as much identifying information the male knows about the woman/mother (including her complete name and her maiden name); the woman’s most current address, her Social Security Number (if known) estimated delivery date (if known) or the name, sex, and birth date of the child.

We should be asking a lot of questions. Does someone verify the accuracy of this information? Are the women notified that someone has registered them. How are they informed that now their personal information is in a database? Ladies, do you really want your partner to go register every time you have sex when you‘re not married to them? Are there still laws in some states that make having sex illegal if the couple are not married? Hey mom, do you want your 16 year old son to give out all that information? And if he doesn’t register, do you want to potentially lose access to your grandchild?

So far registration is not booming: good for the women but not good for the men. What’s next? How about a reward card for registering? They could give the guys a tank of gas, power tools or sports event tickets after every 10 registrations. Even better than the paper card, let’s go plastic reward cards and accumulate points. Imagine the marketing. Have you had sex today? Remember to swipe each time. Those points could add up guys and racing season is coming. To save money they could have condom companies sponsor the cards. Imagine what the marketers could do with an ad like “Frequent Flyer Miles,“ but I digress.

The supporters of this legislation say the law will help connect fathers with their offspring before the children are put up for adoption. This law's critics see it as a citizen’s privacy being eroded. I lean towards the latter. As Robert Franklin, Esq. says here, "these laws exist to keep dad out of the loop in case of adoption."

Is making our sons aware of the Putative Father Registry something each father should include in “the talk?” Should parents insist on having the Putative Registry promoted in the health classes in high school? Should mother’s be discussing these registries with their teen daughters. Should the government now have brochures, posters or at least an information packet reminding the male troops they send overseas to register before they go? As usual there’s too many questions and not enough answers when you legislate instead of educate.