The Politics Of The Domestic Violence Bill
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-04-30/politics-domestic-violence-bill
The Senate votes to extend the landmark domestic violence bill. But as it heads to the House, the additional provisions could fall victim to politics in an election year.
Guests
Terry O'Neill
president, National Organization for Women.
Naftali Bendavid
national correspondent, The Wall Street Journal.
Charlotte Hays
Senior fellow, Independent Women's Forum
Comments
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Only time will tell how women will vote. Will women teachers and public employees,at the State level remember who laid them off ?
Will women remember who is forcing a shaming probe into their bodies,against their will ?
Will women remember who took away their opportunity to breast feed,with the cut backs to the WIC program.
Will women remember who is cutting education,head start,school lunches,and child care programs ?
Will women vote for the Republican Party who believes women are punching bags ?
Will women remember who is re-defining rape,making the rapist the victim ?
Will women remember who is denying their access to health care ?
Will women remember who is trying to raise the cost of interest on your student loans ?
WHAT WAR ON WOMEN ? THIS ONE !!!
War on women, right!. Considering as a country our national debt for the first time ever now exceeds the Gross Domestic Product GDP and we pay a historically low interest rate of 3% on that debt for an annual payment of $454 Billion dollars in interest alone. There is obviously a war on EVERYONE from our federal government including generations that don't even exist yet. When interest rates return to the norm of 5-6% we will be paying in the neighborhood of One trillion a year in interest on the national debt, that's the entire military budget for our country for a year just to pay interest on the debt and that does not figure in the projected trillions that are going to be added to the national debt.
U.S. NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK
The Outstanding Public Debt as of 30 Apr 2012 at 12:44:00 AM GMT is:
$15,636,670,368,054.35
The estimated population of the United States is 312,676,686
so each citizen's share of this debt is $50,009.07.
The National Debt has continued to increase an average of
$3.96 billion per day since September 28, 2007!
Are you listening women?
Are you convinced your mammograms,and birth control are the cause of our Nations debt,and the solution ?
Are you convinced that letting someone use your face as a punching bag will pay down the debt?
What punishment will you be asked to endure next in the War on Women ?
Throughout this morning's discussion, please keep in mind that VAWA is NOT a domestic violence bill. It addresses multiple forms of violence against women, including sexual violence. Sexual violence has unique dynamics, unique challenges for addressing it in the criminal justice system, and survivors have unique needs in their healing. Our society responds to domestic and sexual violence very differently. The silence around sexual violence is profound in many communities. Consequently, there are major disparities in the funding (federal, state, local, foundation, and private) for addressing the two issues. Please do not perpetuate this silence in today's discussion.
Even when violence against women is punished in tribal courts, federal law prohibits tribal courts from issuing anything more than a 2-year sentence for felonies. This undermines the authority and autonomy of tribal courts and is a continuation of colonialization and systemic oppression of native peoples. Even if they wanted to issue stronger criminal justice penalties, they are prohibited from doing so by federal law. This is a profound statement of our federal government about value (or lack thereof) of protecting native communities from sexual and domestic violence.
On the Native American issue, how is that any different then if you go to say Mexico or Canada and commit a crime? If you do you will be tried in the court of the country you commited the crime in. Why should it be any different for Native American Reservations?
If you go onto tribal lands, I see no reason why you should not be subject to the jurisdiction of the tribe, at least when the victim is a member of the tribe. If you go across the border to Canada or Mexico, you are subject to their laws when you commit a crime. I know that tribal versus US Sovereignty is not the same as country vs country sovereignty, but you went onto tribal land so you should not be able to escape the law simply because of the uncertainty of jurisdiction.
@ libertarians r us
Where do the dollars come from to pay taxes and buy bonds?
They're first created - spent into existence by the US government. The government can spend dollars ad infinitum and can always pay any bill denominated in dollars at anytime as it always does by crediting bank accounts.
The bonds sold that are popularly know as debt should be more accurately characterized as savings. When the government pays off a bond it simply debits a savings account and credits a checking account. No grandchildren involved. No wailing and gnashing of teeth needed.
Any version of VAWA that excludes certain people from protections, or places additional burdens on their ability to access services, is simply discriminatory. Cantor-Adams are no friends to women.
The original purpose of the Violence Against Women Act is to stop domestic violence, dating violence, sexual violence and stalking. Every reauthorization has included new elements that help us accomplish that better. But the Cantor-Adams bill opposes progress and wants to pick and choose the victims that we will help. That's just not acceptable! Americans aren't that mean-spirited.
It's being referred to as the violence against women act, but I have seen documentaries and films illustrating that men can also be abused by their wives. The person's gender should not matter. Also, what about children in the marriage?
It's not about sexism!
I feel that the argument that tribal courts have no jurisdiction because the men may not be members or residents of the tribe is not valid. If you cross a state line or a international boarder and perform a crime, you are held under the laws of that state or nation. The fed or the states have no grounds to order the person to be returned to the place of residence to face a court.
So the tribes have courts, and they have the right to hold criminals on their lands up to the justice that they have in place.
I have a simple rule if Republicans are introducing legislation or overwhelmingly in favor of legislation it must be BAD FOR THE AVERAGE AMERICAN. They do NOT have our best interest in mind only their corporate or church friends
It's simply untrue to say that the Violence Against Women Act only helps female victims. It helps victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking regardless of gender.
Of course I oppose violence against women. However, recently I learned about the abuse of the VAWA by immigrant or "mail order" brides who marry a U.S. citizen and then claim they are victims of abuse. A woman can orchestrate her case by visiting a women's shelter or telling someone about the fabricated/alledged violence. Supposedly, the woman is then afforded protections and is provided a green card. The alleged abuser is denied the ability to defend himself by presenting his version of the facts. Since the man does not know in advance of the woman's manipulation of the system, he has not obtained witnesses in advance who can dispute the woman's claim. The man is branded as an abuser with no recourse to defend his character and he may have a continuing financial obligation to a woman who never intended to be his wife.
I understand that this is a small detail in the big picture, but can't the new version address the peculiar circumstances of a foreign bride who uses the VAWA to gain a green card by lying about her husband? A man should be permitted to defend his character.
In theory, this should be true. But federal law does not grant that type of jurisdiction. Federal law greatly limits the jurisdiction of tribal courts and law enforcement, even to the point of severely limiting their sentencing ability (2 years maximum for felonies). This is a continuation of the colonialization and oppression of Native people. It's abhorrent, but it is our current law.
Ms. Hayes's factually incorrect comments are disturbing. She stated that the Bill of Rights does not apply on Native American reservations, that the violence against women act does not cover violence against men, that gender based violence equally impacts men and women. She then went on to question whether date rape should be considered rape. My hats off to everyone for remaining civil - it is more than I could manage while listening.
My boyfriend was accused of assaulting and threatening his ex-wife in December. She got a PPO on him based on a statement witnessed by her half sister and the guy she had the affair with. Judge granted PPO with no proof. My boyfriend was in another city at the time and has video proof and witnesses that he did nothing to her, but PPO has still upheld until she "comes up with proof" but she has been unable to do so. She does this to keep him from seeing his kids. Very unfair to men in my experience.
Charlotte Hays has repeatedly stated that tribal courts cannot be counted on to be just in trying accused perpetrators.
Is her assertion based on evidence or opinion?
I work and live on an Indian Reservation. I took a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner course and we spent 2 full days on Tribal Law. Part of the issue is that many Reservations are a "Sovreign Nation" and federal laws do not apply. This is why this is so important.
I find that the comments of your guest about there not being false claims because it is embarrassing to women is shortsighted. I know that I would never lie about this and I am sure that all of your guests would not either. For those of us that do not normally lie I agree that admitting something like this would be embarrassing to us. On the other hand, I know that there are many people that would not mind lying if it suited their purposes. I have met women that openly admitted that they had or would make false claims if their partner did something to displease them enough. Just because you do not have a study on something doesn't mean it doesn't exist.
Ms. Haye's comments in general are disturbing. Did I just hear her imply that the newest definitions of rape are lax and allow "girls to get drunk, give consent while drunk and then call it rape"? (I'm paraphrasing clearly)
Seriously?! I'm really surprised that anyone was able to remain civil while talking to her. Clearly Ms. Hayes drank the koolaid, and is just regurgitating what the good ol' boys say. Then she has the nerve to say that there isn't a war on women. Be for real.
I have two friends who were drugged at a party our sophomore year of college. The police didn't even take a rape kit and it was essentially chalked up to "drunken mishaps" when the two of them had only had one drink each before they passed out and their nightmare began. Years later, they have had no justice, no one has listened and the dean of the college has constantly pushed them aside and said there's "nothing he can do."
I am a criminal defense lawyer and former state prosecutor in Charlotte, NC. As a prosecutor, I started the domestic violence courts here in Charlotte in the early 90's. Your commentators who talked about misdemeanor assualt with a deadly weapon could not be more wrong. The misdemeanor is only used where there is no injury or a minor one. There are two felony assaults using deadly weapons. When someone is shot or stabbed, for instance, the felonies are charged. Domestic violence is vigorously prosecuted and the suggestion that NC takes the matters less than seriously is badly misinformed. There was a time when that was the case many years ago, but where this state is concerned, your guests and caller were simply wrong.
I find it interesting that they talk about the laws of our Nation. Yet feel that Indian reservations laws should have no weight. I feel that anyone who walks onto a reservation should be held accountable by their laws, and if anyone who enters into a reservation and breaks their law they should be held accountable. If they don't want to be under tribal law they should just stay off the reservations.
I am astounded that the term "henpecked" was ignored. Really...opposition to people who would dismantle the violence against women act is henpecking? How sexist is that terminology? No amount of protesting that one is "opposed to violence against women" can hide underlying mysogeny.
Just had to go to the independent women's forum. definitely right leaning. maybe Cuckoo right it is hard to tell, they all sound alike. They all sing the same song. They all have the same talking points
http://www.iwf.org/
If a conservative is saying it, doubt it!!
libertarians r us....2 wars unpaid for tax rates reduce for those that can afford them economy left in an utter mess on January 20th 2009 who do we trust to fix it??? we know who created the mess.
republicans ..trying one day at a time to bring back the feudal serf syatem
I owe my life to the Violence Against Women Act. My husband was very violent and I feared for my life every day for 13 years of marriage. I had 3 little daughters whom I sought to protect but when I asked for police help in the '90s, I was told that they would take my husband to jail for three days and then he would be out again. Knowing him, I knew if I accused him, he would get out and find a way to kill me. It was 2002 when it escalated too far and one of my daughters was involved that I had to act. I was very lucky this bill was in place, or I would not be here telling our story. People who don't go through this and don't feel what it's like having someone so much bigger than you and with 100% financial control who takes away your friends, family, and all your self esteem, threatens your LIFE on a daily basis while brain washing you into thinking that you have no other recourse have NO IDEA how important this bill is to women. All victims need to be helped and not shamed!!
Funny how once out of the system, my ex paid off my lawyer and never paid a penny in alimony or child support. Without this bill, I would have been utterly helpless. I am a very educated woman by the way, for those who believe that only the ignorant and poor are victims of this situation.
Regarding Native Reservation legalities; It seems logical to me that if you violate a law within the confines of a Tribal Reservation then you should be subject to their judicial process, just as if you were in one state verses another. Race or citizenship should not be a factor. If there is a question of civil rights being violated or not applicable then don't cross the boarder into Native territories. Other countries don't have the US's civil rights, but it doesn't mean that offenders aren't held accountable by the local law enforcement process (however harsh it may be).
It's a no brainer. Come up with a better reason to go against the domestic violence bill.