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The National Coalition for Men (NCFM), formerly the National Coalition of Free Men, is a
non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
educational and
civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
organization which aims to address the ways
sex discrimination Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...
affects men and boys. The organization has sponsored
conferences A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main pu ...
,
adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained self-educating activities in order to gain new forms of knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralp ...
,
demonstrations Demonstration may refer to: * Demonstration (acting), part of the Brechtian approach to acting * Demonstration (military), an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought * Demonstration (political), a political rally or prote ...
and lawsuits. NCFM is the United States' oldest generalist men's rights organization. It professes to being politically neutral, neither conservative nor liberal.


Foundation

Free Men, Inc. was founded in
Columbia, Maryland Columbia is a census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland. It is one of the principal communities of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. It is a planned community consisting of 10 self-contained villages. Columbia began with ...
in January 1977. The name "Free Men" was used as an imperative (as in Free Men from unfair
divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
lawsNCFM Philosophy
''ncfm.org'' accessed Jan 15 2012
). By-laws were formally adopted in July. The four founding members were: Richard Haddad, Dennis Gilbert, Allan Scheib and Allen Foreman. Richard Haddad authored the "Free Men Philosophy" which included 26 items from which he felt men should be freed. These represented options. The first newsletter was named "Options". This early chapter concentrated on forming "
support groups In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic. Members with the same issues can come together for sharing coping str ...
" for men as counterparts to "consciousness raising groups" tailored to women. Initial national interest resulted from appearances by author Herb Goldberg, author of ''The Hazards of Being Male''. By 1980, the Free Men. Inc. organization in Columbia had begun to disintegrate. Nevertheless, undaunted by local circumstance in Columbia, others in different parts of the country began forming groups associated with the Maryland organization. Two new groups formed chapters in Boston, Massachusetts (Headed by Frederic Hayward, founder of Men's Rights, Inc. A strong supporter was Robert A. Sides who went on to represent NCFM on national television and radio talk shows) and
Nassau County, New York Nassau County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. At the 2020 U.S. census, Nassau County's population is 1,395,774. The county seat is Mineola and the largest town is Hempstead. Nassau County is situated on western Long Island ...
. The strongest of the two was in Nassau County. As a result, it received all of Free Men, Inc.'s records as it became clear that the Maryland group was going to fold.


History

The Nassau County Chapter was formed in early 1980. In February 1981 the Nassau County, New York chapter began its own newsletter called "Transitions." By October 1981 the chapter had been responsible for inspiring and forming other groups in
Suffolk County, New York Suffolk County () is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It is mainly located on the eastern end of Long Island, but also includes several smaller islands. According to the 2020 United States census, the county's populatio ...
and
New Milford, Connecticut New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is in western Connecticut, north of Danbury, on the banks of the Housatonic River, and it shares its border with the northeastern shore of Candlewood Lake. It is t ...
. On Saturday, October 24, 1981 the Nassau County chapter produced its first conference. It was funded by
Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York. Adelphi also has centers in Manhattan, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County. There is also a virtual, online campus for remote students. It is the oldest institution of higher ed ...
and was called "Freeing Men From The Macho Mold: Options For Men In The 1980s." The conference was followed up the next day by Free Men's first convention, which was attended by representatives from various groups. Transitions became the national newsletter. Out of the convention was born the "Coalition." Tom Williamson and Naomi Penner organized the convention, organized the national body and are credited with founding the "Coalition." Tom Williamson was elected President and Naomi Penner was elected Vice President. Incorporation proceedings were begun and the coalition became official in December 1981. The incorporation was amended in 1982 to further clarify objectives. The original intent was for the governing body to be called, "Free Men." However, after the organization was informed that someone else in New York owned that name the organization considered such words as "Union" and "Association" before settling on "Coalition." The governing body was formally incorporated as "The Coalition of Free Men, Inc." As of 2006, the National Coalition of Free Men had 5 chapters from
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
to
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
. In the spring of 2008, the organization changed its name to the National Coalition for Men. NCFM championed the case of William Hetherington until his parole in 2009. The NCFM supported a Republican version of the Violence Against Women Act in 2012. The organization argued that the bill written by Senate Democrats excluded heterosexual men and would empower "false accusers at the expense of true victims", and encouraged women present in the country without legal documents to make false accusations of abuse in order to stay in the country. The liberal Center for American Progress has criticized the NCFM for its stance on the issue, as did the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...
. The NCFM has engaged in controversial behavior such as publicly outing alleged sexual assault victims whose cases were dismissed due to lack of evidence and labelling these women as "false accusers". In July 2020, NCFM's vice president and main attorney in several lawsuits,
Marc Angelucci Marc Etienne Angelucci (March 30, 1968 – July 11, 2020) was an American lawyer, attorney, men's rights activist, and the vice-president of the National Coalition for Men (NCFM). As a lawyer, he represented several cases related to Men's right ...
, was murdered at his home.


Achievements

In 2005 the NCFM filed a lawsuit against the state of California for funding domestic violence shelters for women only. In 2008 the Court of Appeal ruled in their favor and held that the exclusion of male victims violates men's rights to equal protection and "carries with it the baggage of sexual stereotypes", because "men experience significant levels of domestic violence as victims" The NCFM filed a lawsuit, ''
National Coalition for Men v. Selective Service System ''National Coalition for Men v. Selective Service System'' was a court case that was first decided in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas on February 22, 2019, declaring that requiring men but disallowing women t ...
'', that challenges the legality of requiring only males to register for the military draft. The lawsuit was filed against the U.S. Selective Service System in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on April 4, 2013. In 2016, the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...
reversed the district court's dismissal of the case and remanded the case back to the district court. The case was later moved to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas in the 5th Circuit. On February 22, 2019 Judge
Gray H. Miller Gray Hampton Miller (born December 9, 1948 in Houston, Texas) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Education and career Miller attended the United States Merchant Marine ...
issued a declaratory judgement that the male-only registration requirement is unconstitutional. In 2021, the
American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court on behalf of the National Coalition of Men. In June of that year, the Supreme Court denied the writ, with
Justice Sotomayor Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...
citing "the Court's longstanding deference to Congress on matters of national defense and military affairs," especially while Congress was in the process of assessing the need for male-only drafts.


Criticism

The
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...
has criticized the group as doing more to blame women and lobby against laws that supposedly protect women from discrimination and violence, than to advance equal treatment of men. SPLC accuses NCM of cherry-picking statistics and creating false equivalences in the oppression of men and women.Male Supremacy
/ref> However, the SPLC has also been the subject of criticism from those who argue that some of the its listings are overbroad, politically motivated, or unwarranted.Jonsson, Patrik (February 23, 2011)
"Annual report cites rise in hate groups, but some ask: What is hate?"
''
The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...
''
{{Synthesis inline, date=November 2022


References


External links


National Coalition for Men - NCFM.org
Men's rights organizations Men's organizations in the United States Non-profit organizations based in San Diego Organizations established in 1977 1977 establishments in Maryland