California NOW

Join San Gabriel Valley/Whittier NOW in Working to Restore Model Domestic Violence Court Program

Here's an update from San Gabriel Valley/Whittier NOW on their work to restore the domestic violence program at West Covina's Municipal Court. The following letter was sent to District Attorney Steve Cooley from SGV/W NOW, you can use it as talking points to compose your own email, or fax the office at (213) 974-1484.

 Dear Mr. Cooley:

The model Domestic Violence program at West Covina’s Citrus Municipal Court must be restored! Once an exemplar, Citrus Municipal Court’s domestic violence division has devolved into a training ground for new deputy district attorneys, to the detriment of its core mission and the peril of the people it serves. I am writing to ask for your active support of its restoration, for the good of the people it serves and of the wider community.

Judge Patrick B. Murphy in his 1999 article (attached in its entirety), eloquently defined the model domestic violence court: “What is a domestic violence court? A model domestic violence court is presided over by a judge who is specially trained to handle the intricacies and complexities of domestic violence cases. These cases are prosecuted by a specially trained and experienced district attorney.” 

Referring to the dismantled court in 1999, Judge Murphy says (on page 4), “Even more problematic the district attorneys who are handling these cases have no specialized training whatsoever in these complex and highly emotional cases. As a matter of fact many of the deputy district attorneys at Citrus Municipal Court are relatively new and inexperienced and handling a complex domestic violence case may be one of their first jury trials.”  (The Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, and a former Los Angeles County District Attorney supported the reinstatement of the model court in 1999, and moved by a large community effort, and help from the media, the court was reinstated  in 2000.) 

Creating Family-friendly Government Policies

This is the second in a series of posts this month dealing with motherhood and feminism. You can also read my first post, a feminist critique of Mothers' Day. 

This essay will address the very real needs of mothers, children, and families, and the ways in which government could support and promote a truly family-friendly society. It also includes quick action links to start getting these policies in place. 

Although some of these issues are of more concern to mothers who also work outside the home, they affect every family with a working parent.  My third essay will discuss the issues faced by mothers, children, and families on a more personal and day-to-day level.

Let's do a quick rundown on some of the big issues that affect families:

Health care & coverage
Parental & family leave
Equal pay
Child care
Workplace flexibility
Education

Congratulations to New Mom, CA Rep. Linda Sánchez!

Today, Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-CA) became the eighth woman to give birth while serving a Congressional term of office with the birth of her first child, Joaquin Sánchez Sullivan. The healthy baby boy was born in Washington D.C. at 9:13a.m., Wednesday, May 13, 2009 weighing 7 pounds, 14.6 ounces and was 20.6 inches long.

“I couldn’t be happier,” said Rep. Linda Sánchez.

Sanchez got media criticism for being unmarried when she announced her pregnancy last November. She has stayed in Washington, working right up until the birth. 

Although Rep. Sánchez has always been supportive of issues that affect women and families, we're sure that having a personal stake in issues such as affordable child care, flexible work schedules, and education will only make her a stronger advocate. Congratulations to Rep. Sánchez, her husband, Jim Sullivan, and their new addition!

Happy Mothers' Day!

We hope all you moms out there are celebrating Mothers' Day in your own ways.

You can read our post from last year on the history of Mothers' Day, and take a look at the first essay in our May series on motherhood and feminism.

And don't forget to get a little extra fun out of the day, for yourself or any of the great moms you know, by watching the video that our friends at MomsRising put out to honor your favorite Mom.

Mothers' Day is Coming, and I'm Pissed

It seems like people's take on Mothers' Day goes one of two ways. Either they buy into the cards-flowers-spa treatment-chocolate promotion of it, or they reject it for it "Hallmark holiday" consumerist aspects. I don't know that I've ever read a truly feminist critique of Mothers' Day.

This is the first in a series of posts this month dealing with motherhood and feminism. Last year, we wrote about the history behind the holiday. This year I'd like to look a little deeper at what Mothers' Day says about our society's take on women, mothers, and parenting.

Have you ever noticed that Mothers' Day is promoted as a chance for Mom to get away from the kids, while Fathers' Day is promoted as a chance for Dad to do something with the kids? The dichotomy is pretty easily explained when you realize that in each case the parent is being offered the chance to do something that it's assumed they don't usually get to do.

Keep Non-Scientific Theories Out of Custody Cases!

As you may know, California NOW has spent many years working on issues of family law, and especially child custody. One of the most damaging trends in custody cases is the use of non-scientific theories such as "Parental Alienation Syndrome" which are used to remove custody from fit parents, usually mothers. PAS has even been used in cases of documented abuse to justify giving custody to the abuser.

Now the California state legislature is taking steps to prevent any non-scientific theory from being used in custody hearings, and the Center for Judicial Excellence is supporting their efforts. Here is the information:

Assembly Judiciary Committee Hearing - AB 612 (Child Custody: Non-Scientific Theories)
WHEN: Tuesday, April 28th 8:00am
WHERE: State Capitol Building, Room 4202
*A carpool will leave Marin County at 7:00am - Call Steve with CJE at 415-261-4784 if you would like a ride, or for more details.

The psychologists and attorneys who are making tons of money off of PAS will certainly be there to oppose this bill, so we need as many people as possible to attend this hearing. Come support Assemblyman Jim Beall and AB 612!

There is a lobby day planned following the hearing. Please RSVP as soon as possible so you can be included in the planning process.

Real Threat Is To LGBT Individuals, Not From Them

Looks like Rudy Guiliani may have his eyes on the presidency in 2012. How else to explain his sudden need to blast New York Governor Paterson's marriage equality bill? Of course, as we know, the real threat doesn't come from lesbians and gays, but to them.

To make you feel better, here's another great parody of the NOM "storm" ad.

And Stephen Colbert's take on it:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
The Colbert Coalition's Anti-Gay Marriage Ad
colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor NASA Name Contest

NOM is Deceptive on Multiple Levels

That ridiculous National Organization for Marriage (NOM) video we told you about? Turns out that creating an imaginary gay threat and using actors who pretend they've been hurt by marriage equality aren't the only lies in their video. Here are some facts on the examples cited in the NOM video against marriage equality. (Thanks to HRC for this info.)

The general argument of the ad is that the push for marriage equality isn’t just about rights for same-sex couples, it’s about imposing contrary values on people of faith.  In contrast, the facts show that each of the examples cited is really about people attempting to impose the values of their faith on members of the general public.

The examples they cite in the ad are:

(1) A California doctor who must choose between her faith and her job
(2) A member of New Jersey church group which is punished by the state because they can’t support same-sex marriage
(3) A Massachusetts parent who stands by helpless while the state teaches her son that gay marriage is okay

The facts indicate that:

Marriage Equality Town Hall - April 21st in Sacramento

The Sacramento County Chapter of the ACLU of Northern California invites you to a town hall on marriage equality on April 21 in Sacramento.

Now that the Supreme Court has heard oral arguments in the case challenging Proposition 8 and a decision is imminent, LGBT community centers across the state, in partnership with Equality California (EQCA) and joined by a broad coalition of organizations, will be holding a series of town halls in multiple cities to seek community input on the next phase of our movement for marriage equality in California. Specifically, the town hall meetings will serve to explore various strategies and options should the Supreme Court uphold Proposition 8, including but not limited to an affirmative marriage ballot initiative.

Tuesday, April 21
6 to 8 pm
Curtis Hall, Sierra 2
2791 24th St., Sacramento, CA 95818

This event is co-sponsored by the Sacramento County Chapter of the ACLU of Northern California.

The town hall will also be an opportunity for communities to meet with EQCA’s new Marriage Director, Marc Solomon, who comes to EQCA from Mass Equality, the organization that successfully secured and maintained marriage equality in Massachusetts. Shannon Minter, the Legal Director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights, who recently argued in the Proposition 8 case on behalf of EQCA and same-sex couples before the California Supreme Court, will also be in attendance.

Information on events is made available as a community service, and does not imply support or sponsorship by CA NOW.

Arguments Against Marriage Equality are Laughable

Balkanization has a great breakdown of the argument against the Iowa Supreme Court's recent decision to make same-sex marriage legal. By taking the argument to its logical conclusion, and applying the same logic to other cases that have impacted the human rights of protected minority groups, it becomes obvious how ridiculous that argument against marriage equality really is.

And speaking of ridiculous arguments against marriage equality, here are the laughingly named folks at NOM, the National Organization for Marriage, engaging in fearmongering at its worst.  Following that you can see some of the mocking that has already started.