it's Port Angeles, Jake.

As there even been a well adjusted person with brandings, tattoos and piercings?

well, i'd be pissed if someone did that to a puppy too.

@2

1950 called, it wants its stereotypes back.

I honestly don't see much of a problem here. If the dude and his kids and all gotten tattoos it would be a non-issue. I suppose it's much better to have someone who knows what the fuck they're doing make permanent marks on your skin... but at best the difference is one of being cheap, not of assault.

Sick fucking motherfucking parent! I wish somebody would brand him "I'm a shiity father"!

@6,I gotta disagree. The youngest kids were 13 and 15. I don't think any sane adult would let their kids get a tattoo, out-of-the-ordinary piercing or a brand at that age. A prosecutable crime? Probably not. But reading the story makes it sound like this was less a family bonding ritual (apparently, it's an offshoot of the Manson family) than a big fuck you aimed at the ex-wife. I'd be investigating those kids for other forms of abuse if I was heading up the local child protection division there. Nothing like a good ol' fashioned vampire parent to blight a kid's life forever. And I say this as a person who loves tattoos (planning to get my next one soon) and friendly feelings for body piercings.

Branding's just another form of body art. If it's done well, meaning safely, and it's fully consensual, it's a non-issue.

Since it doesn't look like the dad's qualified to do it right, they might be able to get him on misdemeanor branding without a license, but assault charges are outright prosecutorial misconduct.

I would feel less creeped out by this if the father hadn't branded him with his initial. If this was a case of kids saying "Hey Dad, could you brand me with an awesome dragon, pleaaseeee!", I wouldn't think too much of it. Maybe it would be poor judgement on the father for doing, it but not any worse than a father giving his child an ear piercing.

But the fact he's branding his children as his with "Seamand's Kids", adds a different level. It just seems incredibly narcissistic. I kind of wonder if he's just doing this to piss off his ex-wife--sort of a "They're MY kids not YOUR kids", kind of shit.

Jesus, Dan. I'm a big fan and completely in favor of full marriage/parenting rights for gay people, but you are taking a bad (although probably fun) tactic here.

Cherry-picking out terrible straight parents does nothing to build a case for the competence of gay parents. Yes, there are many people who believe that even the worst straight parents are better than the best gay parents, and this tactic certainly works to undermine their position- but only when operating in the universe where logic holds sway. Your tactic will not deter these nutjobs, but only less fanatic anti-gay people.

Most people who oppose full marriage/parenting rights for gay people already don't believe that even the worst straight parents are better than the best gay parents. They just think that on the whole, children are better off growing up with a mom and dad than with two moms or two dads. Leaving aside the issue of the millions of divorced straight parents in our country, the best ammo here is all the good gay parents out there (and more importantly, their well-adjusted kids) ... although there may not be a funny, sarcastic way to present this evidence.

@5 That didn't answer my question.

@2 Alan Greenspan, Pope Benedict, Barbara Walters, etc.

Golly, I just can't in the world think of a single reason why this man's wife would want to divorce him.

@2 - Are you fucking serious? Every other person you meet these days has tattoos and piercings. Branding is a bit less common, though I've seen it in the BDSM scene, but it's really not that different from what I can gather.

I've got three holes in my head and I'm planning to get inked as soon as I figure out what I want. Not sure if I fit your definition of "well adjusted," (or even if I would want to based on the fact that you seem to have a rather lacking understanding of everyday reality), but there it is for what it's worth.

I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with skin branding...for adults, if that's what you're into. But not only is it waaaay fucked up to inflict that on your kids (both for the pain and the permanency), the thing that REALLY sets off red flags in my head with this act is the possessiveness of it. Fuck "bringing the family closer together" (betcha anything his lawyer came up with THAT happy little turn of phrase), this guy sees his children as his property...and men like that are fucking dangerous. They're the ones most likely to feel the same way about their wives/exes and to think they can basically do whatever they want with their "property," including kidnap, fuck with, use to retaliate, rape and kill.

@ 14 - I wouldn't consider that a list of well adjusted people.

That thing is big! And ugly, too.

Also, children are not free-ranging cattle.