Should father's be given the same chance as mothers to gain custody of their children?

Mother's and father's should be given an equal Chance on getting custody of their children. The circumstances of the separation of the mom and dad should play a big role in who gets the custody, but if neither the mom or dad have done anything wrong or harmful to one another than they should get an equal chance. Some people feel that mother's should have more of a chance to have custody of the children but the dad is just as much of a part of the children as the mom. The mom may have had the children, but the dad is still the father of those children. If one of the parents is abusive then the other should get the custody. For example, when a man beats his wife or children then the mom should automatically get custody of those children. That's not always the case though. So each parent should have an equal oppertunity to have custody of their children.