Started by woof, Jun 13, 2005, 04:48 PM
VAWA 2005: Time of DecisionThis past Thursday Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) introduced the ViolenceAgainst Women Act of 2005 in the Senate. A similar bill is expectedto be introduced in the House of Representatives in the next fewdays.The proposed law, known as VAWA 2005, ignores the hundreds ofthousands of men who are victims of domestic violence. Thisideologically-loaded bill proposes to expand the previous VAWAlegislation by taking the male = batterer, female = victim messageand carrying it to children and youth, American Indians, and collegestudents around the country. By our calculations, the bill carries ataxpayer price tag of $842 million a year.Since its formation in January 2005, RADAR has made enormous stridesin reducing media bias about domestic violence. But if passed in itscurrent form, VAWA 2005 will spawn countless media stories that pushthe old domestic violence myths.Worse, VAWA-induced hysteria will be used to thwart proposed fathersrights legislation. And the continued perception of an "epidemic" ofdomestic violence may well lead to new laws that discriminateagainst men and fathers.At this point, Americans face two choices:1. Simply allow the proposed VAWA law to pass as proposed, OR2. Become actively involved in the legislative process.If you are in the second category, please read on.During the upcoming weeks and months, VAWA 2005 will undergo anumber of steps in both the Senate and House of Representatives:1. Crime Sub-committee2. Judiciary Committee3. Vote by the full Senate and House4. Conference committee to reconcile differences between theSenate and House versions of the bill.5. Confirmatory vote by both the Senate and House6. Approval or veto by President BushEach of these steps presents an opportunity to influence thedirection of VAWA 2005. However, it is usually easier to influencelegislation in the early stages of the process.At this time, it is imperative that every person concerned aboutgender fairness to decide on your position:A. VAWA should be defeated, ORB. VAWA be modified so male victims of DV can receive services.To help persons make this decision, RADAR has posted severalarticles on its website at www.mediaradar.org including thefollowing:1. Promotional piece by VAWA advocates (2 pages):www.mediaradar.org/vawa_info/Two-pagerVAWA6.6.05.doc 2. VAWA factual summary (14 pages):www.mediaradar.org/vawa_info/VAWA6.6.05.doc 3. VAWA bill (266 pages):www.mediaradar.org/vawa_info/JEN05634_LC.PDF Also, Phyllis Schlafly's recent article, What Have Feminists Done toAmerica's Fathers? makes some provocative comments:www.humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=7713Next week's Alert will ask persons to contact their Senators andexpress their views on VAWA. If you have not already signed up toreceive the RADAR e-lerts, visit our website at www.mediaradar.org.VAWA is such a far-reaching law that if passed, every American willbe affected by its programs. So now, for every one of us, it's aTime of Decision.
A. VAWA should be defeated