Florida NOW

“You Will Not Silence Us,” says NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

The National Organization for Women (NOW) is making support for the monthly vigil at the NRA Headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia on Saturday, October 14 part of NOW’s board meeting, which is taking place this weekend in Virginia.

The vigil is held on the 14th of every month in remembrance of the Sandy Hook massacre that occurred in Newtown, Conn. on Dec. 14, 2012 that took the lives of 26 innocents, mostly children.

“This month’s vigil is particularly heartbreaking,” says NOW President Toni Van Pelt. “In the wake of the Las Vegas attack that is the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, we have a solemn obligation to speak our truth to the terrible power that is the modern NRA.

“The NRA wants to keep our truth out of sight, out of mind, and out of earshot, but our message to the NRA is simple: despite the millions of dollars that you spend to silence members of Congress, you will not silence us. We will not stand for women being killed by abusers, families and workers being gunned down with assault weapons, school children massacred and happy crowds being slaughtered without remorse or accountability by the gun industry and the Congress who refuses to regulate gun ownership.

“We know that people with a history of committing domestic violence are five times more likely to subsequently murder an intimate partner when a firearm is in the house. And over the past 25 years, more intimate partner homicides in the U.S. have been committed with guns than with all other weapons combined.”

More than half of women murdered with guns in the U.S. in 2011 — at least 53 percent — were killed by intimate partners or family members. And research by Everytown for Gun Safety establishes that this is also true for mass shootings: in 57 percent of the mass shootings between January 2009 and June 2014, the perpetrator killed an intimate partner or family member.

NOW supports the Democratic candidates who are running for statewide office in Virginia and appearing at Saturday’s vigil, Lt. Gov Ralph Northam, candidate for Governor, Justin Fairfax, candidate for Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General Mark Herring, who is running for re-election. In addition, NOW calls on Congress to close the loopholes in the federal gun prohibitions to ensure that stalkers and dating partners are barred from gun ownerships just like other dangerous abusers. Congress must also require comprehensive background checks and ensure that prohibited domestic abusers cannot easily evade background checks by purchasing guns from unlicensed sellers.

“Domestic violence is inextricably linked to gun violence,” says Toni Van Pelt. “It’s long past time to stop playing politics with women’s lives. We will shame the NRA, confront the NRA and defy the NRA at every turn.”

Contact
M.E. Ficarra, press@now.org, 951-547-1241

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

That old glass ceiling continues to break, but the cracks don’t run deep enough.

NOW welcomes the news that the Boy Scouts of America have once again admitted to their long history of discrimination, this time against girls, and are taking steps to correct it.

For more than a century, Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts have been an integral part of our society. But girls have been left to wonder, why were they left on the sidelines when boys got to earn badges, participate in scouting activities and be Eagle Scouts?

But there’s an even bigger question that remains unanswered. Why are Girl Scouts not afforded the same level of financial support on the federal, state and local levels and recognition for their fine work in supporting and providing opportunity? The fact the Eagle Scouts award is considered by some as more prestigious that the Girl Scout Gold Award speaks to this financial discrimination.

Are the Boy Scouts of America truly going co-ed, or are they setting up a parallel scouting experience that defined as​​ “separate but equal?” ​even as​ we know the practice usually plays out as separate and unequal in quality and opportunity.​

If this decision means that the Boy Scouts will be offering segregated activities and providing girls with fewer opportunities, or activities of lesser quality, there’s much more trailblazing needed from the Boy Scouts of America. We’d rather see​ a cultural shift of​ more respect and ​funding for the Girl Scouts as is their due.​

Contact
M.E. Ficarra, press@now.org, 951-547-1241

Statement of NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

NOW is calling for sexual predator Harvey Weinstein to be removed from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. After decades of abusing his power to prey on women, the last place he should be is in Hollywood’s most powerful club.

This week the New York Times reported that Weinstein silenced numerous women who accused him of sexual harassment–and many more came forward after the article’s publication, including actors Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie.

We are witnessing the downfall of a powerful man at the hands of empowered women. It took tremendous courage for these survivors to come forward, in spite of the looming threat of personal and legal retribution from Weinstein, and the fierce shame that so many survivors experience. I am deeply grateful to these women. Their bravery has inspired others to share their story–squelching the toxic culture of silence around sexual assault, and potentially sparing other women the same fate.

Weinstein has proven himself to be the worst kind of workplace monster: powerful and predatory. This week’s reports reveal Weinstein’s cold, calculated pattern of sexual harassment and assault–with his own employees used as pawns to manipulate women. Taken together, these accounts illustrate a disgusting abuse of power, wielded by Weinstein as an individual and with the weight of his company.

A sexual predator doesn’t deserve the privilege of an Academy membership–and all the opportunities to wield outsize power that come with it. If Weinstein has power in Hollywood, women are at risk. Stripping his membership is the obvious next step toward achieving justice.

Contact

M.E. Ficarra, press@now.org, 951-547-1241