Pressure continues to mount to reform VAWA, a law that discriminates against men and shreds their civil liberties.

In recent weeks a number of Op-Ed columns have targeted VAWA. On Tuesday, well-known writer Phyllis Schlafly published a bell-ringer column that called VAWA an example of "anti-marriage and anti-male ideology" and called for persons to "stop the act from spending any more taxpayers' money to promote family dissolution and fatherless children."

Her full column is reprinted below.

Click "Read more..." for more.

Roy writes "The Senate Judiciary Committee has published most of the transcripts from those who testified at yesterday's VAWA hearing. It is the usual litany of feminist misinformation, hysteria, and misandrist screed, with no mention of male DV victims that I could find on a first read. Testifying were the heads of the National Sherriff's Association, Director of the Office on Violence Against Women, Director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, and actress Salma Hayek, among others."

Anonymous User writes "Virginia has issued subpoenas to cellphone companies seeking delinquent parents."

Anonymous user writes "Men's and fathers' issues columnist Glenn Sacks criticizes VAWA-related restraining order policies in his new column "VAWA Renewal Provides Opportunity to Stop Destruction of Innocent Cops’ Careers" (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, 7/19/05). The column describes the way police officers often have their careers destroyed by baseless accusations of domestic violence.

AngryMan writes "A 5 year old boy narrowly escaped death when a teenage girl hanged him from a tree with a length of string, and then tried to incriminate 4 other children for it."

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.

And it truly was Shock and Awe. Thousands of persons made phone calls and sent faxes. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO RESPONDED. And we know from inside sources that they really heard us.

Click "Read more..." for more.

The second and final day of the Second National Men's Equality Congress in Washington, DC crossed the line with a strong finish! Thanks to everyone who attended, spoke, or facilitated break-out sessions. The final tally is TBD, but I can confidently report that at least 70 people attended the Congress. Look for pictures shortly.

You may have noticed a new link in the Navigation box in the upper-left of Mensactivism.org. It is to a new section of MANN, which is called the MensactivismWiki. If you don't know what a wiki is, check it out and start reading some of the documentation. I realize the docs are very sparse right now but I will impove them significantly over the next week. I am announcing this at the second annual Men's Equality Conference, so it's being released now even if it's still a bit rough around the edges. If you have worked with wikis before, this one is dedicated to the men's rights community to collaborate and share knowledge related to pro-male activism. Feel free to start adding content to it in that spirit!

Many thanks to all who attended Day One of the Second National Men's Equality Congress in Washington, D.C. The lobby portion of the day was very productive, and included a "fact-blitz" on the Senate Justiciary Committee members regarding the upcoming VAWA re-authorization bill. Our Supreme Court protest was energized and well-attended despite the foul weather, with tourists from Britain and other parts of America spontaneously joining in with us. Pictures will be coming soon, so stay tuned! Tomorrow's gonna be great!

Anonymous User writes "A man who admitted raping two young girls in the US has agreed to be castrated to avoid serving a life prison sentence.

Excerpt:

Keith Raymond Fremin, 42, accepted a 25-year sentence without parole for molesting the two sisters, who were 11 and 13 at the time of the attacks in 1999.

Judge Donald Fendlason, in the Louisiana court, said he would revoke the lighter sentence if Fremin does not undergo the surgery by August 18.

The victims, now 17 and 19, were in court yesterday and agreed to the plea deal."

Ed note: I debated with myself about posting this but then thought about the "what if" situation had the confessed rapist been female and the victims boys. Would the judge have 1) sentenced her to life in jail and 2) offered an ovariectomy to the woman in exchange for imposing a lesser sentence?

Marc A. writes "The Washington times just printed two letters from men's rights activists responding to the false claims of feminists in an article on fathers' custody. One letter refutes the feminist myth that when fathers request physical and legal custody they get it 70% of the time, which comes from a distortion of a study that does not say this at all and in fact shows otherwise."

Click "Read more..." for more.

The list of persons who will be speaking at the July 19, 2005 Senate hearing on VAWA is still in limbo. We have an important opportunity to assure the truth is heard next Tuesday.

The staffer who is arranging the hearings is Mr. Brett Tolman in Senator Specter's office.

Click "Read more..." for more.

You know, I am not too impressed when a high-profile political figure openly and publicly declares that an indelible characteristic should be consideration for appointment of a person to a high (or any) office. Oh yes, well, since she is referring to a person's sex and it's a "pro-woman" comment, I guess it must be all right then...

Well just in case you hadn't seen the previous postings, we are three days away from the Second National Men's Equality Congress in Washington, D.C. If you are all set to attend, see you soon! Otherwise, hey, there's still time to make plans.

So, they actually charged her? Good to see it. Of course if she had been a he, there would have been no delay in the charges, would there have been?