Engaging with the Obama Admin to Advance the Human Rights of Women

[chill_wind]

Human Rights, Women's Rights
Engaging with the Obama Administration to Advance the Human Rights of Women

President Obama hit the ground running on women’s rights when, in his second week in office, he made the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act the first major bill he signed into law.

This week, human rights advocates will gather at the United Nations to discuss plans to work with the Obama administration to make further strides on an array of other women’s right issues.

On Thursday March 5 at 6:00 p.m. at the U.N. Church Center in New York, advocates from the ACLU, the Rebecca Project for Human Rights, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, Amnesty International, the Urban Justice Center, the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative, and the University of Pennsylvania Law School will participate in a roundtable discussion to share their visions and plans for engaging with the Obama administration and Congress to address, among other things, human trafficking, violence against women, issues facing women in the criminal justice system, women workers’ rights issues, reproductive rights, and police brutality against women of color.

U.N. Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Professor Yakin Ertürk, will deliver opening remarks.

This event is free and open to the public. It is being held in conjunction with the 53rd session of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, one of the first international forums the U.S. will participate in under the Obama administration.

link: http://blog.aclu.org/2009/03/03/engaging-with-the-obama-administration-to-advance-the-human-rights-of-women/

[Captain Hilts]

1. Heeeere she issss....

[chill_wind]

3. Thanks!

eom

[chill_wind]

2. United States Supreme Court Upholds Gun Ban for Domestic Abusers

This was just on the VAW website today. Thought I would add this here.

United States Supreme Court Upholds Gun Ban for Domestic Abusers
3/3/2009 9:15 AM

On 24 February 2009, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision upholding a 1996 amendment to the federal Gun Control Act of 1968, which bars those convicted of a "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" from owning guns. The case, United States v. Hayes, considered whether the rule preventing gun ownership applies to domestic abusers convicted under general assault/battery laws, or if the ban only applies to those convicted under specific domestic violence laws.

In a 7-2 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that it was not required that a domestic relationship be a specific element of the crime. Rather, the Court determined that the ban can apply to individuals convicted under general assault/battery laws, so long as a domestic relationship between the offender and the victim is proven.

This decision, as articulated by its author, Justice Ginsburg, recognizes that "Firearms and domestic strife are a potentially deadly combination nationwide."

Compiled from: United States v. Hayes, 555 U.S. ____ (2009); Robert Barnes, Justices Uphold Ban On Guns for Abusers, The Washington Post (25 February 2009); Supreme Court: No Guns for Abusers, Family Violence Prevention Fund (27 February 2009); Supreme Court Ruling Reinstates Gun Ban on Abusers, Feminist Majority Foundation (25 February 2009).

http://www.stopvaw.org/Supreme_Court_Upholds_Gun_Ban_for_Domestic_Abusers.html