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Shock and Awe Week 3: Now on to the House!
The other good news is that in the last two weeks, a coalition of over 15 groups – including some of the respected big guns on Capitol Hill – has come together to make VAWA a fairer law.
At this time we do not know who will actually testify at Tuesday's hearings. But we have opened many, many doors to the lobbyists who are working on behalf of our VAWA coalition, and our voice is finally being heard.
This week it's time to focus our energies on the House of Representatives. Why? Because the House Judiciary Committee plans to vote on the VAWA bill before the end of this month – and they don't even plan to hold hearings!
So let's crank it up! This is what we are asking you to do this week:
1. Find out the name of your Representative. Each district has only one Representative. To do that, go to http://www.house.gov/ and enter your zip code.
2. Go to your Representative's website and get their telephone and fax number. You may have to call the office during business hours to get the fax number.
3. Write a short letter like this and fax it ASAP. You can use this exact wording, or revise it slightly to reflect your thoughts:
RE: H.R. 2876
Dear Representative :
I am a registered voter in your district, and I'm writing about the Violence Against Women Act, H.R. 2876. According to the Department of Justice, 835,000 American men are victims of domestic violence each year. But it has been shown that VAWA-funded programs refuse to serve those men – that's called “discrimination.”
So I'm asking you to do what is fair and right, and make sure this language is added to the VAWA bill to make it non-discriminatory:
“Nothing in this statute shall be construed as prohibiting funding for programs focused on or serving male victims of domestic violence. Male victims shall be considered an underserved population.”
Thank you for your attention and help.
Sincerely,
Your name
Address
Telephone number
4. If you do not have access to a fax machine, telephone your Representative's Legislative Assistant (referred to as the “L.A.”) who is responsible for VAWA – your Representative's receptionist will give you that person's name. When you speak to the L.A., convey the same information as in this letter.
ABOVE ALL, BE RESPECTFUL AND POLITE. Coming across as angry, bitter, or threatening only reinforces the negative stereotypes, and will make it more difficult for our front-line lobbyists.
Remember, time is extremely short. We have a lot to accomplish a lot in two short weeks!
News flash! We have just learned that in the next couple days, Phyllis Schlafly will be releasing her article: "Time to Defund Feminist Pork". Look for it at http://www.humaneventsonline.com/ and then politely encourage your editor to run it in your local newspaper.
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Date of RADAR Release: July 17, 2005
To track the current status of VAWA, go to http://thomas.loc.gov/ and enter the bill number: Senate bill S. 1197; House of Representatives bill H.R. 2876.
To receive RADAR Alerts, press releases, and other special announcements, sign up for the RADAR E-lert. You can sign up for the E-lert on the RADAR home page at http://www.mediaradar.org/. Your e-mail address will be kept confidential, and will not be shared with any outside organization. It's fast, easy, and keeps you in the loop.
Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting (RADAR) is a coalition of men and women working to assure media balance and accuracy in coverage of the domestic violence issue.
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Two weeks ago RADAR launched its Shock and Awe campaign. We asked people to contact members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and request they invite a male DV victim and other qualified experts to testify at the July 19 Committee hearings.