Call your legislators now and ask them to co-sponsor this life saving bill.
As you probably know, a number of laws prohibit domestic abusers from buying or possessing a gun.Still, many people are shot and killed by abusers each year in Wisconsin. Between 2000 and 2008, 156 domestic violence victims in Wisconsin have lost their lives because abusers had easy access to guns.
Recently, WCADV has been working on legislation to effectively enforce firearms restrictions on domestic abusers.Now, a bill is circulating for co-sponsorship that would make a huge difference in preventing abusers from illegally buying guns.The bill would require background checks on all gun sales in Wisconsin.Similar laws in other states have been shown to save lives.
As they have been doing with other bills to protect victims, you can be sure that the NRA lobbyists from Virginia will be telling our legislators that they better not support this bill -- that it will be politically "dangerous" for them to sign-on.
That is simply not true!
Statewide, 84% of likely voters, including 7 out of 10 NRA members and supporters, believe that anyone buying a gun should have a background check.
The Measures Address the Seriousness of Gender-based Violence
Yesterday, the State Assembly passed two bills that proponents say acknowledge the seriousness of gender-based violence and the toll it places on victims and society.
The Gender Violence Act
The Gender Violence Act (GVA) is a civil rights bill that allows victims to hold perpetrators of sexual assault and domestic violence accountable for the financial burden of these crimes.
The GVA is similar to civil rights legislation that passed federally in 1994 as part of the Violence Against Women Act.That law was nullified by an United States Supreme Court decision, which left the issue to the states.The GVA will restore the civil right to hold perpetrators financially and morally accountable in Wisconsin courts.
“Victims and their families, businesses and government programs are forced to pay for the enormous financial costs associated with violence against women,” said Patti Seger, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WCADV). “With this bill in place, perpetrators will be more likely to bear the economic impact of their crimes and victims will be better able to recover some of what they have lost.”
The GVA addresses the main barriers that victims of sexual assault and domestic violence encounter in the civil court system. Proponents say that there is a limited legal history of survivors suing rapists and batterers in civil court. Therefore, lawyers are more reluctant to take cases based on gender violence, relative to other personal injury suits. The GVA provides a specific statutory cause of action, which should encourage private lawyers to represent victims.
A key feature of the legislation is a seven year statute of limitations, as opposed to the three year limit victims currently face when trying to sue their perpetrators in civil court.
“Victims need time to undergo healing and attend to more immediate legal matters, like the criminal trial or divorce proceedings, before they can begin a civil suit,” stated Seger.
The Gender Hate Crimes Act
The State Assembly also passed the Gender Hate Crimes Act on Thursday.The bill allows a prosecutor to charge crimes that were motivated by the victim's gender as hate crimes.Currently, district attorneys have this authority when crimes are motivated by other aspects of the victim's identity, such as race, religion or sexual orientation.
“Like the GVA, the Gender Hate Crimes Act shifts the legal framework for understanding violence against women,” said Seger.“Acts of sexual assault and domestic violence are not isolated crimes.This pattern of violence reflects and fuels a culture of hostility and gender inequality.”
“WCADV thanks Representative Berceau and Senator Coggs for authoring the Gender Violence Act and Representative Parisi and Senator Taylor for sponsoring the Gender Hate Crimes Act.” concluded Seger. “Both bills make the important statement that violence against women is destructive to society and degrades the rights of all women.”
Law would Hold Perpetrators Accountable and Affirm that Violence Against Women is an Affront to Equality
Although our society has recognized that harmful acts motivated by victims' race, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation, represent civil rights abuses, it has been slow to recognize gender violence and violence against women as a problem of equal magnitude. Tragically, approximately 650 women are raped everyday in the U.S., and nearly one in four women reports experiencing intimate partner violence at some point in her life.The Wisconsin Gender Violence Act will help victims hold perpetrators accountable and advance an understanding that violence against women is destructive to society and degrades the civil rights of all women.
Call your state representative, today, and tell him or her to, “vote for AB 480, The Wisconsin Gender Violence Act, tomorrow.”
Tell your state representative to reject any amendment that would lower the statute of limitations. Victims need time to deal with other legal matters, like the criminal trial, and to emotionally recover before we can expect that they will have the strength to bring a civil suit.
See below for other talking points and more information.
The Wisconsin Gender Violence Act
The Wisconsin Gender Violence Act has its roots in the historic Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). In the lead-up to passing the VAWA, Congress recognized that violence against women constituted a grave civil rights problem and economic burden on the nation. Congress responded by giving victims the civil right to hold perpetrators accountable in federal courts. Under Title III of VAWA, victims of gender-motivated violence could sue their perpetrators in federal courts to recover costs and expenses.
In 2000, the United States Supreme Court struck down the civil right created in VAWA. Christy Brzonkala, a Virginia Tech freshman, was raped by two football players. After school administrators and law enforcement failed to adequately respond, Christy sued her attackers in federal court under Title III of VAWA. Unfortunately, the Court held that Congress exceeded its authority in opening the federal courts to victims of gender violence and dismissed the suit. However, the Court ruled that states could provide victims with a civil right to sue perpetrators.
The Wisconsin Gender Violence Act will provide the same cause of action in state court that would have been provided under Title III of VAWA.
Talking Points:
The GVA will:
Recognize violence against women as a serious civil rights issue.
Allow victims to shift the financial burdens of sexual assault and domestic violence back to where they belong—in the pockets of those who batter and rape.
Make it more likely that survivors will obtain justice. Because our society is relatively new to recognizing and responding to the realities of sexual assault and domestic violence, there is a limited legal history of survivors suing rapists and batterers in civil court. Therefore, lawyers are more reluctant to take cases based on gender violence, relative to other personal injury suits. The GVA would provide a specific statutory cause of action, which will encourage private lawyers to represent victims.
Call your state representative and tell him or her to, “vote for AB 480, The Wisconsin Gender Violence Act, tomorrow.”
Tell your state representative to reject any amendment that would lower the statute of limitations. Victims need time to deal with other legal matters, like the criminal trial, to emotionally recover before we can expect that they will have the strength to bring a civil suit.
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