RADAR Alert: Shock and Awe Week 4: House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime

Submitted by Matt on Mon, 2005-07-25 06:14

Last Tuesday, July 19th, the Senate Judiciary Committee held "hearings" on the bill to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act which left them no better informed about the truth of VAWA. A transcript of the testimony can be seen at http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearing.cfm?id=1570.

Now we turn our focus to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime. This week we're asking you to contact members of that committee to inform them of the facts on VAWA.

Click "Read more..." for more.

Shock and Awe Week 4: House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime

IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE HOUSE SUB-COMMITTEE WILL BE VOTING ON VAWA LATER THIS WEEK, SO PROMPT ACTION IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.

Please do the following right away:

  1. Write a short letter something like this. You can modify it to reflect your own thoughts, but be sure to keep it respectful. Hostility or extreme analogies like comparisons to Nazis will only make it harder for our viewpoint to be heard.

    The Honorable {name here}

    FAX no: {fax no. here}

    Subject: H.R. 2876 - Violence Against Women Act

    Position: Provide equal funding for organizations focused on helping male victims

    Dear Representative {name here}:

    I'm writing about major problems with H.R. 2876, the Violence Against Women Act. According to the Department of Justice, men constitute 36% of domestic violence victims annually. But despite claims to the contrary, VAWA-funded programs deny services to those 835,000 American men and their children.

    Before the House votes on VAWA, the bill must be fixed to guarantee that all victims are helped, regardless of gender. It is unacceptable to require victimized men and children to seek help from organizations whose decade-long track record clearly demonstrates their lack of sympathy for, or even outright hostility to the needs of these victims.

    Please make VAWA non-discriminatory by adding the following language:

    “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

    Your address

    Your phone number

  2. Below are names and fax numbers for the members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime. For each member, edit a unique copy of the letter to include his or her name and fax no. Then fax that copy to the committee member.
  3. If you do not have access to a fax machine, telephone the Representative's L.A. (Legislative Assistant) who is responsible for VAWA – the receptionist can tell you which L.A. is assigned to VAWA. Speak to the L.A. and tell him or her the facts in this letter. And remember, our chances of getting them to understand the need for a non-discriminatory law will only be harmed by angry or extreme language.

    Remember, Congress will recess at the end of this week. Fax your letter today!


    Members of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime

    Congressperson Fax Voice

    phone    		 State Party
    Howard Coble,

    Chariman    		 202/225-8611 202/225-3065 North Carolina R
    Dan Lungren 202/226-1298 202/225-5716 California R
    Tom Feeney 202/226-6299 202/225-2706 Florida R
    Steve Chabot 202/225-3012 202/225-2216 Ohio R
    Ric Keller 202/225-0999 202/225-2176 Florida R
    Jeff Flake 202/226-4386 202/225-2635 Arizona R
    Mike Pence 202/225-3382 202/225-3021 Indiana R
    Randy Forbes 202/226-1170 202/225-6365 Virginia R
    Louie Gohmert 202/225-5866 202/225-3035 Texas R
    Bobby Scott,

    Ranking Democrat    		 202/225-8354 202/225-8351 Florida D
    Sheila Jackson Lee 202/225-3317 202/225-3816 Texas D
    Maxine Waters 202/225-7854 202/225-2201 California D
    Marty Meehan 202/226-0771 202/225-3411 Massachusetts D
    William Delahunt 202/225-5658 202/225-3111 Massachusetts D
    Anthony Weiner 202/226-7253 202/225-6616 New York D
    News Flash! A major critique of the Violence Against Women Act, written by Dr. Stephen Baskerville, is appearing in the July 25 issue of The American Conservative. As soon as it is available online, we will post the article's URL at http://www.mediaradar.org/baskerville0725.php. We encourage you to distribute this article to your conservative elected officials and others as appropriate.

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Date of RADAR Release: July 24, 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.

    NOTICE: This story was migrated from the old software that used to run Mensactivism.org. Unfortunately, user comments did not get included in the migration. However, you may view a copy of the original story, with comments, at the following link:

    http://news.mensactivism.org/articles/05/07/25/0221252.shtml

Like0 Dislike0