Seattle-area attorney David Crosby established it in 1985 when his 14-year-old son Ian ran away from home after various acts of teenage rebellion.
[1] After some time his parents gave him an ultimatum: he could join troubled teenager programs in either wilderness therapy or drug rehabilitation.
[2] Because of Ian's behavior and his views on Seattle nightlife, Crosby established Parents in Arms as a civic organization to seek new city regulations.
[4] Crosby set the tone of the organization as militant, ready to fight, in support of police and prosecutors, and in opposition to nightlife.
[4] Crosby complained that in Seattle, young people who wished to leave home could find support systems outside their families to help them do so.
[4] He also complained that drug rehabilitation centers would only admit teenagers who consented to treatment, when he felt that parents should be able to involuntarily commit their minor children if they were engaged in substance abuse.
[6] Good activities that Parents in Arms supported included joining youth farming organizations such as 4-H or Future Farmers of America.
[5] Supporters felt that rural teenagers had better lifestyles because they were cleaner and healthier, and unlike the scruffy Seattle Center youths who had wild hairstyles and wore makeup.
[7] The teenagers claimed that Parents in Arms was portraying them as drug-crazed perverts, when actually they were typical kids doing normal social activities.
[7] Another report shared was from the Washington State Board of Tax Appeals, which praised the Monastery for having a business model which was able to arrange housing and counseling to counter youth homelessness.
[10] After the closure of the Monastery, Mike Zeitner, the vice president of Parents in Arms, opposed the opening of other teen dance clubs.