Florida NOW

Statement from NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

Democracy won a big victory at the U.S Supreme Court when Donald Trump’s attempt to add a citizenship question to the U.S. Census was defeated.  But trust in this core document of our democracy has already been eroded. Scores of immigrants got the message that the census was going to be a vehicle for disenfranchising communities of color. 

We need to rebuild trust in the census, reach out to immigrant communities and reassure them that they can participate in the census without fear. And we must demand that the Commerce Department and the Census Bureau respect this decision and go ahead with printing census forms without the discriminatory citizenship question. 

But Donald Trump has never met a settled law he didn’t want to overturn, if it suits his purpose.  

In a tweet sent from Japan, Donald Trump said he’s asked his lawyers if the constitutionally mandated census can be delayed to accommodate his anti-immigrant agenda.  He wants more time to build a legal case that will put the matter back before the Supreme Court this October. 

We know that the reason Donald Trump wants to add this question is because it will depress Hispanic voting power and boost that of white Republicans. Legal experts are now predicting that we could see a rare September do-over where John Roberts finds a way to change his vote. 

NOW will not let our guard down until this discriminatory, dangerous measure is finally, definitively, defeated. We will stand up for full representation, and demand that the U.S. Census count every person in America—not just the ones Republicans want to vote. 

Contact

Kimberly Hayes, Press Secretary, press@now.org, 202-570-4745

Statement from NOW President Toni Van Pelt:

WASHINGTON, D.C. — “She’s not my type,” Donald Trump said by way of denying E. Jean Carroll’s accusation that he sexually assaulted her in a department store dressing room more than 20 years ago.   

Really, Mr. President?  What is “your type” when it comes to rape?  Donald Trump has rejected the accounts of other women he’s allegedly assaulted with smirking boasts that they weren’t attractive enough.  “Believe me, she would not be my first choice, that I can tell you,” he told a campaign rally about a woman who said he put his hand up her skirt on an airplane. 

We already know how Donald Trump views women.  He told us in his own words on the Access Hollywood tape.  He feels entitled by his male privilege to force himself on any woman he meets — and then laugh about it. 

But this is serious — even if the media is treating E. Jean Carroll’s horrific experience as unsurprising old news.  We know that rape and sexual abuse is about power and control, not about an aesthetic type. We know the truth — and we will not be silenced even as we face a disinformation and propaganda campaign engineered by a culture of men protecting other powerful men.  For them, rape and sexual assault stem from the sense of entitlement they feel to assert power, ownership and control over women. 

Donald Trump — the Assaulter-in-Chief — must not be allowed to get away with minimizing his alleged crimes and mocking his victims. E. Jean Carroll bravely came forward, knowing full well she was stepping into a whirlwind of personal attacks, vicious lies and right-wing media vitriol.   

When women speak, we listen — and we believe them. NOW believes and stands behind E. Jean Carroll and the at least 21 women who have so bravely come forward to speak truth to power, even when that power is held by the person with the highest office in the land.  Their horrific trauma has been compounded by a culture that disbelieves and disrespects survivors.   

Enough is enough. 

Contact

Kimberly Hayes, Press Secretary, press@now.org, 202-570-4745

Statement by NOW President Toni Van Pelt and Vice President Christian F. Nunes:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The 19th Amendment’s promise of suffrage for women unfortunately did not provide actual safe access to the ballot box for women of color, nor did it include nationwide suffrage for American Indian women. It took the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 to finally outlaw discriminatory voting practices that were hijacking our democracy from people of color and other marginalized groups. These rights have been and continue to be under siege since constitutional authority was instituted. As we near the 100th anniversary of the final ratification of women’s right to vote being enshrined in the constitution, we must remember the legitimacy of our democracy depends on everyone’s full participation. 

The VRA has been essential to preventing voter suppression in communities of color for decades. But in 2013, five Supreme Court justices gutted the pre-clearance provision of this vital law in the Shelby County v. Holder decision, thereby making it easier for certain states to resume racist practices that restrict the voting rights of African American, Latino, Native American and Asian American people.  It is far past time to right this grievous wrong and restore equal access to the voting booths for all Americans, especially women of color.  

That is why NOW is proudly standing with our coalition partners across the country for Shelby Week, being held June 24-June 30, to demand that Congress reinstate protections against racial discrimination in voting by passing the Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore the VRA to its full authority. This bill would help to stem the rolling tide of voter disenfranchisement efforts nationwide, which include strict voter ID laws, limited access to the polling places, restricting ballot pickups and the elimination of early voting.  

Every voice must be heard in the voting booth to make progress on important racial justice and women’s issues such as pay discrimination, educational equity, immigrants’ rights, domestic violence and much more. Americans want a system that works for every voter, and Congress must deliver by passing the Voting Rights Advancement Act to ensure that we have the tools we need to address racial discrimination in voting.  

Contact

Kimberly Hayes, Press Secretary, press@now.org, 202-570-4745