Hate Crime Bill adds “Gender”
October 29, 2009
by The New Agenda
|In a truly positive step towards protecting women from gender based crimes, yesterday the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was signed into law.
This Act gives the Department of Justice (DOJ) the power to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violence by providing the DOJ with jurisdiction over crimes of violence where the perpetrator has selected the victim because of the person’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
Prior to the signing of this bill, “gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability” were not a basis for bias-motivated violence.
A real world example of how adding gender helps women can be found in the 2008 Presidential Race. When Governor Palin was hung in effigy a year ago in L.A. it was viewed as a Halloween prank – while when a similar effigy was hung of President Obama, the pranksters were immediately arrested for committing a hate crime.
The New Agenda salutes the LGBT and women’s advocacy groups that worked together to form a coalition and champion this legislation. Collective action works!
http://www.parentstv.org/PTC/n.....9/1028.asp Here is a new study on depiction of violence against women as entertainment by US media companies. This was done by the same people (Parents Television Council)who are trying to get the OPTION of cable choice for consumers so that people don’t have to subsidize media content they find offensive. These people are conservative! and likely Republican! it will be interesting to see if there are any “feminists orgs” who are able to get on board and help push through some changes in media. I bet not. But it is an interesting report.
I doubt it also, Bes. Feminism has truly gone through the looking glass. Nowdays, implying that rape is bad for women is sexist against women to imlpy that they can’t just get over it, saying you want a career is sexist against women because you’re badmouthing stay-at-home mothers, saying porn promotes damaging stereotypes is sexist because you’re imply that women have no “agency” (what a load of crap that one is), and saying that images of violence against women are bad for women is sexist because you’re implying that women somehow can’t shake this stuff off as if it doesn’t matter. Oh, and raising a stink about widow burning and the burqa is racist, almost forgot that one.
Saturate the nation with images of glamourized lynching and wall-to-wall insulting and damaging portrayals of black men as pimps and drug dealers though, and suddenly the liberal response changes.
Apparently, defending the rights of women and even women themselves is sexist somehow. Feminism seems to consist lately of anything BUT actually improving women’s lives and defending their rights.
I agree Janis, At what point do these “Feminists” orgs who are liberal wake up and see liberal men and orgs as a major part of the problem. Do you think this study will even be mentioned by any “news” orgs or “women’s groups”? Fat chance! But I don’t get why. Do liberal feminists just want to belong so badly they will accept any treatment liberal men and their media dish out? Clearly Liberals were out to gain power in this country in the 2008 election no matter what they had to do to get that power and they considered women appropriate whipping persons. Well let me just state again, if you pay for a cable connection you are subsidizing depictions of violence against women as entertainment because you are subsidizing the American media cartel who peddle their profoundly sexist garbage throughout the world. Please think about canceling your cable subscription and downloading for free only the content you choose to watch. You can download content from Hulu and from youtube and you can also rent entire seasons of shows you like at the video store or Netflix. Come on! Drive these sexist pigs out of business!
“Do liberal feminists just want to belong so badly they will accept any treatment liberal men and their media dish out?”
Nailed it in one.
If the disdhing out happens to land right on the head of an Unworthy Strumpet Who Asked For It (like say, a Republican or conservative woman), then they may even cheer.
If it lands on a liberal woman, they’ll just cringe and walk on by.
I still think it has to do with the bone-deep knowledge among liberal women that if they don’t cut massive amounts of slack for men, they’ll never get husbands.
I think it’s awesome that this bill is now law! Wow, this is truly an advancement. Finally, something set right. Now women can use this law to underline to the people in this society who are brainwashed, that domestic violence is hate against women, and that that is not acceptable by law. I am so glad about this!
If Obama is such a sexist pig as so many on this website accuse him of being, then why did he sign this bill into law? Give credit where credit is due, you don’t have to like him, but Obama signed this bill into law so give him some credit and be intellectually honest.
Chris, he did it because he was nagged and shoved into doing it — no, that’s not worth getting a gold star and an, “Isn’t Junior special!” cake.
This is a great move forward.
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