The California Supreme Court’s decision on Proposition 8 marks a step backwards from the slow but steady progress toward equal marriage. While this decision was unfortunate, and in my opinion wrong, I also think we need to do more than strive for equal marriage. Equal marriage is an important legal recognition of a couple’s right to love one another, but that only brings us a step closer to equality for our lesbian and gay brothers and sisters.
In this day and age we need to expand more policies to recognize all the diverse family forms that require equal recognition under the law. We need to look beyond equal marriage if we hope to achieve equality. In the 2000 Census, only 24% of families could be classified as ‘traditional,’ meaning they were composed of a heterosexual married couple and at least one child under the age of 18 living in the same household. The American family these days looks much more diverse than the nuclear image we’re still hanging on to from the 1950’s. There are numerous single parents, many gay and lesbian couples with and without children, and there are many children living with two non-romantically involved parents or even extended family members like uncles, grandparents, and cousins.
Feminists more than anyone else should understand that no one should be forced into marriage for economic benefits. This is not equality, this is at best indentured servitude and at worst economic slavery. Equal marriage therefore is not that equal and not enough.
There are many policy problems that could be solved beyond and outside of equal marriage. State inheritance laws and the Internal Revenue Code both fail to recognize or offer any benefits to life partners or other family types. The tax code simply does not provide deductions based on any relationships other than traditional marriage. Our Social Security system provides conflicting logic as well: in a couple who has been married for nine months, the woman gets survivor benefits if the husband dies. In a couple who has been living together for nineteen years – regardless of whether they pooled their income and lived together – the woman is provided with no government support after his death. Newly-weds can take leave from work to take care of each other or even sue for wrongful death. Never-weds typically cannot take advantage of those privileges.
Recognizing family and relationship diversity in the U.S. outside of marriage would benefit all families. Adjusting policies outside of equal marriage will bring us closer to equality than legalizing unity between two men or two women. We need to achieve equal marriage, but we also need to go beyond it and achieve full equality for all families.
Elisabeth Crum, DC NOW Chapter President
Terry O'Neill at a DCAF Fundraiser
Tonight I attended a happy hour fundraiser for the DC Abortion Fund (DCAF). The fund provides assistance to low income women in the DC Metro area who are seeking abortions. In 2008 they received an average pledge amount of $194, however abortions can cost as much as $500. Women who access these services are low-income women and often women of color. DCAF does not release numbers on how many women they have helped, but nearly 1 in 5 women in DC live at or below the poverty line, so it’s likely that they don’t meet the needs of every client.
The truth is that low-income women should not have to rely on the services of a small fund that relies on local area donors. Women must be able to rely on health care services that meet their needs. This is yet another reason why women need single payer health care, and why the Hyde Amendment, which denies Medicaid coverage for abortion, must be overturned to ensure all women have equal control of their bodies and lives. Bodily integrity is a human right, and women are human too!
Terry O’Neill, NOW President-Elect
The city of New Haven, Conn., violated the rights of 20 firefighters when it threw out a promotion exam because too many whites and not enough minorities qualified, the Supreme Court ruled Monday. The justices decided in a 5-4 vote that the city’s action violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
National Public Radio, June 29, 2009
Shame on the bare majority of the Supreme Court who jumped to the defense of a system skewed in favor of one group of employees – white firefighters – to the detriment of African Americans and Latinos. The City of New Haven’s fire department was wrong to screen applicants for lieutenant and captain by means of an antiquated test that operated in a racially discriminatory manner. Whereas in neighboring Bridgeport, which uses a more up-to-date and reliable selection process, one-third of fire lieutenant and captain positions are held by people of color, New Haven’s testing process is so biased that in the 2004 promotion process, it excluded all African American applicants and all but two Latinos. To its credit, New Haven took steps to right this obvious wrong – only to be slammed by five members of the Supreme Court, which required the city to implement the results of the test.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who dissented with three other Justices, summed up the outcome:
“By order of this Court, New Haven, a city in which African-Americans and Hispanics account for nearly 60 percent of the population, must today be served – as it was in the days of undisguised discrimination – by a fire department in which members of racial and ethnic minorities are rarely seen in command positions. … The Court’s order and opinion, I anticipate, will not have staying power.”
Let’s hope she is right that this decision will not have staying power.
–Terry
We stood with activists around the country in silence, wax dripping between our fingers as candles flickered in honor of Dr. Tiller. We continue to grieve the loss of this American hero, a man who served bravely in defense of a woman’s fundamental right to the full range of reproductive health choices – including the right to safe and legal abortion.
That his murder was terrorism is without question; continued attacks upon Dr. Tiller, abortion providers, clinic escorts, abortion rights advocates and each woman exercising her right to bodily self-determination – including the right to choose abortion – are part and parcel of that same culture of terrorism.
Particularly horrifying is this latest statement from Ann Coulter, in which she refused to acknowledge Dr. Tiller’s murder as murder. “I don’t really like to think of it as murder,” she said. “It was terminating Tiller in his 203rd trimester.”
As the National Organization for Women moves forward to defend and ensure full reproductive rights for all women, we must first work to ensure the safety of abortion providers, their staffs, their clinics and their patients. We must also work to enhance legislative protections for the right to abortion and legislative remedies against those who perpetrate terrorism and/or hate crimes against the fundamental rights of women. Finally, we must foster a culture of choice. A culture of choice provides unwavering support for the rights of all women, and does not allow statements like Ms. Coulter’s to go unchecked.
PRESS RELEASE: Following Letterman’s late apology, feminists vow to wipe sexual harrassment from the airwaves
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Following Letterman’s late apology, feminists vow to wipe sexual harassment from the airwaves
Washington, D.C., June 15, 2009 – Following David Letterman’s apology one week after making a joke about Governor Palin’s daughter getting “knocked up” at a baseball game, Terry O’Neill, candidate for President of the National Organization for Women, vowed feminists would wipe sexual harassment from the airwaves.
“Why did it take so long to apologize?” said O’Neill. “We agree with Letterman’s assessment that his joke can’t be defended, and you can’t really be doing jokes like that. We wish he had acknowledged why: Sexist and racist attacks on women or mothers who dare to enter the public sphere, including Governor Palin, Secretary of State Clinton, First Lady Obama and Judge Sotomayor are a form of sexual harassment.”
Sexual harassment operates in the workplace by making it clear that women just aren’t welcome. “Like so many on the airwaves, Letterman has a pattern of making sexist and demeaning jokes against women in public life,” said O’Neill. “Comedians, pundits and all those men dominating the airwaves think it’s open season on women public figures — and feminists won’t allow this sexual harassment to continue any longer.”
O’Neill vowed feminists would fight future sexist attacks on female public figures with grassroots action. “Sexual harassment has no place in public discourse, but feminists absolutely do. We’re going to hit the streets, clog the inboxes of advertisers and producers, and make sure everyone knows that welcome or not, women are in public life to stay.”
Letterman’s joke had started waves of speculation as to whether it referred to a statutory rape of Palin’s 14 year-old daughter actually present at the Yankee’s game, or a tasteless slur against her 18 year-old daughter who experienced a high-profile teen pregnancy. “But does it matter?” O’Neill asks. “Either way the joke was insulting to women.”
About Feminist Leadership NOW
Feminist Leadership NOW is a slate of four candidates running for executive leadership of the National Organization for Women, the largest, most comprehensive feminist advocacy group in the United States. The candidates are: Terry O’Neill, Bonnie Grabenhofer for Executive Vice President, Erin Matson for Action Vice President and Allendra Letsome for Membership Vice President. Elections take place June 20 in Indianapolis. More information is available at: www.feministleaders.org.
Dear Mr. Letterman:
Your comments on Governor Palin’s daughter – she’s 14 – are outrageous, the farthest thing from funny:
“Knocked up” jokes about an innocent girl are offensive, and allusions to statutory rape are downright unacceptable.
You have insulted every mother, every woman with a body and every girl dreaming for her future – one that never includes mainstream entertainment denigrating her every moment.
That your “apology” to Governor Palin included highlighting her alleged, and very much not, “slutty” attire is a further slap in the face:
We demand a personal commitment that you will keep your jokes out of women’s bodies – effective immediately. Also, you must apologize appropriately. In the meantime, we urge advertisers to stop supporting your show.
In condemnation,
Feminist Leadership NOW
Shame on the Obama administration for appointing Alexia Kelley, cofounder and former executive director of anti-choice Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, to be the Director of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the Department of Health and Human Services.
In her work Kelley has focused on reducing legal abortion, rather than promoting a more “common ground” approach of reducing unintended pregnancies. In voter guides produced by Kelley’s former organization, abortion – not doctors’ murders, clinic bombings or back-alley, abortion-related death or injury – has been likened to war and torture.
Obama carefully hedged on reproductive rights issues prior to the 2008 election, but Kelley used a press conference to clarify her own drive to restrict a woman’s right to legal abortion. She agreed with speakers advocating just that, saying “Catholics in Alliance supports these restrictions as well.” For more commentary, please see this press release from our feminist sisters and brothers of Catholic faith at Catholics for Choice.
Feminist Leadership NOW is unapologetic and unwavering in our demand for safe, legal and unrestricted access to abortion – even when it won’t win us a friendly invitation to the White House for lunch. We believe Kelley’s appointment proves once again why a strong, independent and vocal NOW is needed as much as ever. Sadly, we may soon have to work harder to protect women’s lives with Kelley occupying her senior leadership post at HHS.
- Erin
We are in shock and mourning for Dr. George Tiller, murdered this morning at the church he attended in Wichita, Kansas. And, we are determined to continue the struggle to end the anti-abortion violence that plagues this country.
We call on President Obama and other elected officials to identify this attack as what it is—terrorism—to emphasize the priority that must be given to finding Dr. Tiller’s murderer and to preventing future anti-abortion violence.
Our hearts go out to Dr. Tiller’s family and friends. He will be deeply missed, not only by those fortunate enough to have known him, but by all of us whom he inspired with his bravery and tenacity. Dr. Tiller showed courage in the face of repeated terrorist attacks and threats; dignity and determination in the face of Kansas authorities’ ideologically-motivated harassment; and above all compassion for his patients. His loss will be felt in Wichita and around the country for a very long time.
The highest immediate priority must be to secure the safety of Dr. Tiller’s staff and other associates. Additionally, abortion providers around the country must be provided enhanced security. Even if Dr. Tiller’s attacker acted alone, the sensation sure to surround this crime can spawn copy-cat attacks elsewhere.
In the longer term, more must be done at the federal, state and local levels to protect the safety of abortion providers, their staffs, their clinics and their patients. The fundamental right of all women to have access to the full range of reproductive health care must not be allowed to be subject to terrorist violence.
Where is the outrage over the right wing’s sexist and racist smears against Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor? G. Gordon Liddy, for one, apparently feels that he can demean this respected jurist with impunity. On his radio talk show today, he savaged Judge Sotomayor for her association with La Raza:
I understand that they found out today that Miss Sotomayor is a member of La Raza, which means in illegal alien, “the race.” And that should not surprise anyone because she’s already on record with a number of racist comments.
And later, he took a truly infantile shot at the judge, who would be only the third woman to sit on the Supreme Court:
Let’s hope that the key conferences aren’t when she’s menstruating or something, or just before she’s going to menstruate. That would really be bad. Lord knows what we would get then.
These ugly, bullying remarks have no legitimate place anywhere – not in the airwaves, not in a junior high cafeteria, and most certainly not in the debate over the qualifications of Judge Sotomayor to become our next Supreme Court justice.
Feminist Leadership NOW calls on Mr. Liddy to resign — or be fired.
–Terry
The California Supreme Court’s decision upholding Proposition 8, the ballot initiative narrowly passed by California voters in November 2008, perpetuates a grievous injustice. Feminist Leadership NOW, candidates for NOW national office, pledge to continue the struggle for equal marriage rights. “We are committed to full equality for all women, including lesbians,” said Terry O’Neill, candidate for NOW President, “and we will not rest until every state recognizes the simple right of same-sex couples to marry and enjoy all the benefits of civil marriage.”
The National Organization for Women has been at the forefront of LGBT rights since 1971. As activists with 50 years of collective NOW experience, we are proud of our history and the role that we have played in advancing the rights of all women, including lesbians. NOW’s Equal Marriage campaign and participation in the same-sex marriage movement has contributed to the progress we have made as a country on this issue. We are happy that today 5 states recognize same-sex marriage and over a half-dozen more provide some level of recognition of same-sex relationships. But we also recognize that more work must be done until every state allows same-sex marriage, and same-sex couples enjoy all of the legal and financial benefits that the federal government grants to opposite-sex couples.
Feminist Leadership NOW pledges to reinvigorate NOW’s Equal Marriage campaign. We will provide NOW chapters and activists around the country the tools they need to leaflet, write letters and emails, twitter, blog, picket, lobby and testify for same-sex marriage. Under our leadership, NOW will regain its place in the same-sex marriage movement as a leader, aggressively engaging our grassroots in actions that are visible, vocal and persuasive.
We know that lesbians experience daily discrimination. We are determined to fight for social justice for lesbians and all women.
For Equality,
Terry, Bonnie, Erin and Allendra
Feminist Leadership NOW
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