ACFC, August action on VAWA

[MYSONSDAD]

VAWA Action Needed in August
 

With Congress adjourned and members back in their districts, now is the time to make a difference on VAWA by contacting your legislators.  

 

We appreciate your response to our earlier Action Alert.  Over 1,600 messages were sent to Congress.  To those of you who responded, thank you, your action is important.  We are working closely with other groups on Capitol Hill.  Some of these groups are sending action alerts to their own constituents.  So critics of VAWA are starting to be heard.  We need to continue and increase this momentum.

 

During August, legislators are in their home districts, not in Washington.  Now is when they have time to listen.  YOU elect them, not lobbyists.  You can achieve more in your districts than we can in Washington.  The most effective way is through a personal visit.  

 

Thanks to our friends at RADAR for some of the following points:

 

To make sure you can get an appointment, it's critical that you do the following THIS WEEK:

 

1.       Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard and ask for the office of your Representative or Senator: 202-224-3121 (or go to http://www.house.gov/).

2.       Call your Representative's office and request to speak with the Scheduler.

3.       When you speak to the Scheduler, state that you are a constituent and you wish to meet with the Representative during the August recess, preferably during the last two weeks of August. (That will give you enough time to finalize the meeting date and find 1-2 other persons from your District to join you.)  If you can only speak with a staffer, accept this, but request a domestic policy legislative aide.

4.       If you are asked what organization you are with, state "RADAR" or "ACFC" or your local group (or just say that you are citizens).

5.       The Scheduler may ask you to fax a written request indicating the topic you want to discuss, along with a couple of preferred meeting dates. Simply state that you want to discuss "VAWA reauthorization".

6.       Make a note of the Scheduler's name, in case you need to follow-up.

7.       If you are ambitious, now do the same for your two Senators!  Call 202-224-3121 (or find their phone numbers at http://www.senate.gov/).

 

When you go, we suggest you bring one or two others with you to the meeting and do the following:

 

·         Print and carry a copy of the ACFC Ad in the Washington Times.  Point out the prominent people that have signed it and the points raised in it.  Mention your local ACFC affiliate, if you are a member (if not, please join!).  

 

·         Mention that we need strong, gender-inclusive language.  If they want details, we suggest the following:

 

"In this Part and in any other Act of Congress, a provision relating to
domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, sexual assault, or
trafficking in persons shall be construed to (1) apply equally to male and
female victims, (2) apply equally to male and female perpetrators, and (3)
apply equally to authorize grants related to females as victims or
perpetrators and grants related to males as victims or perpetrators."

 

You can also suggest that language be added requiring that 36% of the funding go to programs that serve male victims of DV.

 

·         You may also request that existing recipients of VAWA funding should not dominate the decisions on who receives grants, and urge that the appropriate cabinet-level secretary have the power to decide which groups receive the money.

 

If you cannot make a personal visit or cannot reach a scheduler, then phone or fax your members of Congress in their district (not Washington) offices (leave a simple voice mail message if necessary).  You can also email, but that is less effective.  (Snail mail requires security checks which take weeks.)

 

A very effective opportunity is to attend a campaign or fund-raising rally and confront representatives with VAWA at the Q&A or buttonhole them afterwards.  You can find those events by reading the calendar in the local newspaper or contacting their member's district office(s) or campaign office and finding out which events the member will be at.

 

For more details on VAWA, visit these excellent sites:

Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting (RADAR)

VAWA4All

 

Please forward this Alert to EVERYONE you know and help mobilize millions of American families!

 

ACFC exists through your generous support.  Please help us continue these important efforts.  Click here to DONATE.

 


You are making a difference!

 

Stephen Baskerville

ACFC President

 


PS: We would be interested in hearing how responsive your legislators were to your appeals. You could give us valuable feedback by sending a short description to [email protected].

 
 
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ACFC Washington Office 1718 M St. NW. #187 Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: 800-978-3237 Email: [email protected]
 

"Children learn what they live"