OPINION
February 15. 2013
Empower women, not their abnsers
BY ANNEY
BOLGiANO
Staff Writir
If you were running a women's domestic
violence shelter, who would you turn away?
An immigrant woman who may find herself
deported if she testifies against her abuser? A
transgender woman, who
is statistically likely to be
turned away? Perhaps
your shelter is on Indian
land, and you know that
tribal law will have no
jurisdiction over an Native
American woman's non-
Native American partner
— what do you do now?
Maybe you could find a
way to help these women,
maybe you couldn't, but the
Violence Against Women
Act reaufiioiization of
Section 47 Assault of the Offences against the
Person Act currently under consideration in
the Senate won't take any chances.
The bill, originally passed in 1994 and last
reauthorized in 2005, is in need of an update.
The proposed bill in the Senate strengthens
protection for marginalized groups. In the
last Congress, the issue was politicized and
lawmakers chose playing political football
over saving women's lives. Enough is enough.
In the Senate on Feb. 7, lawmakers
emphasized the importance of the
leauthorization.
"Four out of five perpetrators (of domestic
violence) on American Indian lands are non-
Indians and currently cannot be prosecuted by
tribal government," said Sen. Amy Klobuchar
(D-Minn.). Section 47 would extend Tribal
court crimmal jurisdiction to non-Indians in
cases of domestic violence.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IU.) expressed concern
for imdocumented immigrant women
experiencing abuse.
The U-Visa program would allow those
who were abused to stay in the country,
regardless of immigration status, to help
prosecute their abuser.
"If an undocumented woman walks into
a domestic violence shelter ... will we help
her?" asked Durbin. "Some say 'No, she's
imdocumented' ... Is that who we are in
America?"
I asked Associate Professor of Political
Science Maria Rosales why she thinks this
is an important issue for Guilford students.
'There are a lot of women here," said Rosales.
"Guilford students should follow issues that
are related to social justice."
"It's incredibly important that all students
—women and men alike — make your voices
heard on this issue," said Senator Kay Hagan
(D-N.C.) in an email interview.
Hagan, a co-sponsor of Section 47, stresses
the importance of the legislation to college
students, who are at especially high risk
of sexual abuse and violence, sa)ing, 'The
'Campus Program' provides grants to colleges
and universities to implement co-ordinated
community responses."
Hagan is coi^dent the bill will pass in the
Senate. Most concern lies in the House.
"We need to send a dear message to the
House that anything short of passage is
unacceptable," said Hagan.
"In every area where women are fighting
for their rights and their choice and their
protection fern abuse, it has come to a fight
without bipartisan support," said Carol
Rosenblatt, executive director of the Coalition
of Labor Union Women.
Leti s keep our eyes on VAWA
reauthorization as it moves through the
Senate And tell the House we will not be
satisfied with a bill that turns its back on so
many of our sisters.
n
8
5
o
o
Gun control: stopping the violence
BY JOSH
BARKER
Staff Writbi
As a child, I lived in a rural part of Vuginia where almost everybody
I knew owned a gun. My family was one of the few that didn't.
Guns were a part of life that we had to deal with. I remember being
told to wear orange during hunting season and to avoid acddentaUy
wandering through the properties of those
neighbore prone to pulling guns on trespassers.
When I was a teenager, I won the marksman
award at Boy Soiut camp. The leaders were
shocked to hear that I had never shot a gun before.
I have also not shot one since.
That is where I come from in the world of
firearms. In this country, guns have saturated
everyone's life.
The issue of gun control has always been a heated
and emotionally driven one. The recent shootings
in places such as Newtown, Conn., have brought
it back to the forefront of the political conversation,
inspiring the idea that sometfdng must be done.
I have always heard the cliche, "Guns don't kill
people, people kill people." I believe this to be true, but I also don't
think that we have to make it easier for people to kill by arming them.
This is why we must tighten up on gun control by making semi
automatic weapons and large magazines of ammunition illegal.
In reaction to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting,
President Obama has proposed stricter gun laws and said in a speech
about these laws, "I'll put everything I've got into this."
States induding New York and California have instituted or are
considering instituting sirmlarly strider gun laws.
On the other side, some are focusing on other parts of the
conversation and argue that the country should focus on school safety
and the way that we as a nation deal with mental illness, instead of on
gun control.
Some are even asking for the arming of teachers. Giving teachers
concealed pistols "cuts down on the 'school fortress' perception,"
wrote Michael Brown in The Christian Sdence Monitor.
Professor of Political Sdence George Guo thinks that the gun control
issue is different in the U.S. than in other cnuntries. 'The weapons
business is very profitable," said Guo. 'The U.S. Constitution is
documentation to proted individuals, not just the government."
The Second Amendment was instituted in 1791, stating that "the
right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."
"The Second Amendment was passed so that the people would have
a way to fight back if the federal government overstepped its bounds,"
said senior Eamon Deeley-Wood. "Unfortunately, at this point in time
the federal government has become so powerful that it's irrelevant."
The argument over gun control shows no signs of abating, and it's
no wonder; like many important i^ues, gun control has no right or
wrong answer. In fad, it has no easy answers at all.
Still, just because finding an answer isn't e^y doesn't mean that we
should allow a stalemate.
"Americans should be able to bear arms responsibly — tliat is
with a background check," said CCE student and veteran Quentin L.
Richardson, continuing on to say that we should "ban military-style
weapons and their capadty to dviliar^."
"A witch himt after gun laws and gun ownership is erroneous (for)
the situation," said junior Darren Foster. "Where our attention should
fall is to creating better laws that will punish those who buy and sell
weapons illegally."
Guo thinks that in our increasingly isolated world the violence will
continue, and in fact that, "it will become more severe in the future
because you can't identify it."
At least everyone can agree that something is wrong and that
something has to change. If only we could agree on what's wrong and
how to change it.
Personally I must return to the above-mentioned diche, "Guns
don't kill people, people kill people." Unfortunately, no law will ever
stop the situation entirely.
However, that doesn't mean that strider laws won't diminish crimes
and save lives. That may be all we can immediately hope for.
That's why making semi-automatic weapons and large magazines
of ammunition illegal is the right first step in what will hopefully be a
much longer process.
1
Valendne’s
Day is over,
so what
nextP
whether your main squeeze was
expecting flowers, you surprised an
unsuspecting muse or you sent that,
"I've been thinking about you" booty-
call text to your first-year sweetheart,
you had dedsions to make. Whatever
you chose, do not underestimate the
weight of your Valentine's Day choices.
Now that the day is over, let's discuss
a few things.
For monogamous couples, planning
your night was easy: silence your
phone, go out to eat, drink some
wine, avoid discussing past lovers
or pushing any other proverbial
"buttons," perhaps avoid eating dairy
products, and then conclude your
evening peacefully while cuddling
on a blai^et, driving around town,
frolicking in a field, going to bed early,
or checking in at work.
But the challenge was much greater
for single folks.
Every dedsion means something
more than it does at face value. Beware
of the weight of your words on this day;
you might have ended up proposing
when all you really wanted was a one-
night-stand.
You must also be on constant alert.
Did your Binford Boytoy expect
dinner? Did your Milner Mistress wake
you up shooting flower petals from a
leaf blower? Was your Hildebrandt
Honey mad that you'd rather stare at
the Quakeria fish tank than listen to her
read passages from "My Antonia?" Or
did your weekend Wubba Woo decide
Valentine's Day was the perfect time to
take your relationship to the next level?
You- can't run. You can't hide.
Valentine's Day happened. Re
negotiate the expectations of Valentine's
Day with your girlfriend, boyfriend,
partner, hubby or Googley Bear so you
don't become a disappointment. Lower
the standards before you fall short of
the bar.
Where will you plant your seeds of
love in 2013? Which plants will you
choose to water and which plants will
you let wither?
Reflecting Guilford College's core Quaker
VALUES, THE TOPICS AND CONTENT OF StAFF
Editorials are chosen through consensus of
ALL 1 5 EDITORS.