Congressional Issues – Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

American Women’s Equal Rights Must Be Part of Our Constitution

To my fellow Americans – on behalf of the human rights coalition Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.), we stand in support of Constitutional rights for women and all Americans, and support the Equal Rights Amendment (E.R.A.), which Americans have been struggling to pass for over 40 years, and there continue to be efforts to extend the deadline to get the Equal Rights Amendment ratified.

So it is astounding to us to hear, from an organization that calls itself the “National Constitutional Center,” that women do not need the Equal Rights Amendment. Nothing could be further from the truth. I would urge the leaders and the Board of Trustees of the “National Constitutional Center” to reconsider this position on the Equal Rights Amendment designed to ensure equal Constitutional rights for all American women.

Our Constitution guarantees rights and liberties consistently everywhere in America – without exception, without caveat, and without question. Our Constitution is intended to be an expansion on the DECLARATION of what it means to be an American – the truths that we hold self-evident. But we are not and we will not be complete as a nation, until our Constitution recognizes these truths not just for men, but also recognizes these truths for women and ALL AMERICANS – as ONE NATION, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

Constitutional equal rights for women is not a left-wing or a right-wing, a liberal or a conservative issue. Constitutional equal rights for women is not a women’s or a men’s issue. Constitutional equal rights for women is an AMERICAN issue. It is our inherited obligation and responsibility to fulfill the truths we hold self-evident for ALL Americans. It is a historic opportunity to pursue the great dream and the great vision that America is and must be not only for us, but also for the world.

Yet I have sat and listened to the stories and tears of American women, whose rights have been abused in different parts of this great nation, and it makes my heart sick. I have heard and I have seen how they been treated as second class citizens, in business, in court, in government, and even by law enforcement. I have seen the uneven application of law and fairness that are basic fundamental principles of those truths that we hold self-evident. I have seen, especially in these days of great poverty among many of our citizens, how they can abused – even sexually abused because they are women, and people in business and people in law-enforcement have not made it a priority to defend their RIGHTS AS AMERICANS.

Perhaps you have not heard such stories; you have not seen such instances of abuse and disgrace across our great nation. But even those who have not heard or seen such shameful violations of American women’s rights have certainly heard and read the public dialogue over the past week. One only has to read the recent news stories and hear the interviews of those who think it is acceptable political dialogue to call American women “prostitutes” (and even more vulgar terms) to get the message of the level of intransigence against women’s rights and dignity. The timing of this latest attack on American women could not be a clearer indication of the threat to American women’s rights and dignity today. It should speak volumes to those who question the need for an Equal Rights Amendment to America’s Constitution.

We cannot and we will not complete the building of our great nation, by neglecting the Constitutional rights of half our country. We cannot and we will not become the nation that we were destined by failing to guarantee the Constitutional rights for our daughters, our sisters, our wives, and our mothers. We cannot and we will not become an American beacon of hope to oppressed women around the world – when we fail to give Constitutional rights to American women at home. We cannot and we will not ever truly become the UNITED States of America that we must be, when we allow and tolerate a division among our Constitutional rights for men and the Constitutional rights that all women should enjoy without question – simply because they are Americans – one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for ALL.

United We Must Stand – as Americans in support of Equal Rights for all women and men in America.

Jeffrey Imm
Founder
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)
https://www.realcourage.org
usa@realcourage.org

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Equal Rights Amendment

Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

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Women’s Equality Day Event: DC Area Gathering

On Women’s Equality Day, August 26, a Washington DC area gathering in the Maryland suburbs of Rockville, remembered the historic granting of women the right to vote, and activists called for full Constitutional Equality for all women in America! Supporters gathered at the La Tasca Restaurant, remembering the 163rd Anniversary of the Women’s Rights Movement and the 91st anniversary of women winning the vote.

Activists also called for continuing efforts to PASS the Equal Rights Amendment (E.R.A.) for full Constitution Equality of women in America. Activists also discussed progress that they were making in the campaign for the E.R.A. Activists continue to work in Congress and among state legislative bodies to continue to work to pass the E.R.A.

House Joint Resolution 47 for the E.R.A. seeks to remove the deadline for the ratification of the E.R.A. to leverage the past ratification of the E.R.A. by states that have already accepted it in the past. That bill was sponsored by Wisconsin Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin.

R.E.A.L. urges all to support our universal human rights by demanding Constitution Equality for all women through the passage of the E.R.A.

Hosting the organization of the gathering and remembrance of Women’s Equality Day included:
— Montgomery County Business & Professional Women
— United for Equality LLC – Facebook
— Montgomery County Maryland National Organization for Women (NOW) – Facebook
— American Association of University Women
— Women Back to the Future
— Women Business Onwers of Montgomery County
— Peerless Rockville Historic Preservation Ltd
— Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)

At the gathering, there were speakers from these organizations, including:
— Rockville Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio
— State Senator Jennie Forehand
— Kate Campbell Stevenson
— United for Equality’s Carolyn Cook
— Montgomery County NOW
— R.E.A.L.’s Jeffrey Imm

Rockville Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio spoke of her own inspiration of an early career challenge, seeking her to pursue women’s equality issues. Senator Forehand spoke of the challenges of women suffragists and equality for women in politics.

Montgomery County Business & Professional Women (BPW) Secretary Susan Horst was a major organizer of the event and deserves our thanks. An article on the event was also posted in the Rockville Patch.

A reporter from the local Gazette newspaper also covered the event, and we look forward to their story.

Women’s Equality should never be a question.
It must be a declaration.
It must be a Constitutional Right for ALL American Women.

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Photos from the DC / Rockville Area Women’s Equality Day Event – August 26, 2011

(As we get better photos, we will share links to them – these are just spontaneous photos captured from Jeffrey Imm’s iPhone.)

082611-003 — United for Equality's Carolyn Cook Speaks to Gazette Reporter Chris

082611-016 — R.E.A.L's Jeffrey Imm Speaks

Reports on Rand Paul and Civil Rights Bill Discussions

The news media reports on multiple interviews with Rand Paul in discussions regarding the Civil Rights Bill and American business responsibility.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The Kentucky Courier-Journal reports: “Rand Paul faces tough questions on race with Rachel Maddow”

The Kentucky Courier-Journal reports: “Paul will not support repeal of civil rights act”

The Associated Press reports: “Rand Paul issues statement about comments in video about race, Civil Rights Act”

NBC also reported:
— “He added, ‘I support the Civil Rights Act because I overwhelmingly agree with the intent of the legislation, which was to stop discrimination in the public sphere and halt the abhorrent practice of segregation and Jim Crow laws.’
— “In his 15-minute interview with Maddow, Paul repeatedly declined or sidestepped opportunities to endorse the provisions of the 1964 law which require hotels, restaurants, and other businesses to accept all customers without discriminating on the basis of race or ethnicity.”
— “He repeated several times that he opposes racial discrimination. ‘I’m not in favor of any discrimination of any form, I would never belong to any club that excluded anybody for race,’ he said. At the end of the interview, Paul added, ‘I don’t believe that any private property (owner) should discriminate either.'”
— “But he did not say whether he supported using federal law to enforce non-discrimination in privately owned businesses. He said ‘had I been around’ in 1964 ‘I would have tried to modify that.’
— “He also said the debate over the civil right law’s limits on rights of private property owners ‘is still a valid discussion.’ ”

NPR: “Rand Paul In Civil Rights Bill Firestorm”

— NPR reports on NBC interview, where asked about “desegregating lunch counters,” Rand Paul replies “Well, what it gets into then is if you decide that restaurants are publicly owned and not privately owned…”

Notably, Mr. Rand Paul’s comments were quickly defended by a number of diverse individuals, ranging from political activists to Neo-Nazis such as “Kievsky” formerly with the Neo-Nazi National Alliance organization on the “white nationalist” website Occidental Dissent. Nazi “Kievsky” calls the NBC woman reporter a homosexual slur in the title of his posting.

— Rand Paul in ’02: I may not like it, but ‘a free society’ will allow ‘hate-filled groups to exclude people based on the color of their skin’

— “Rand Paul Defends Opposition to Civil Rights Act’s Prohibitions on Private Discrimination”

Uganda: Obama Condemns Anti-Gay Bill in Uganda

U.S Senate Committee on Foreign Relations – “Violence: Global Costs and Consequences” – October 1 – 2:30 PM – 216 Hart Senate Office

Support Afghan Women Empowerment Act, S. 229

Let your Senator know that you support
Afghan Women Empowerment Act, S. 229
— Full Text of Bill

“Afghan Women Empowerment Act of 2009 – Expresses the sense of Congress that the protection of the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan and their full participation in the reestablishment of democracy are essential to Afghanistan’s reconstruction, and to achieve such reconstruction the U.S. government must commit resources to advance the rights of women throughout Afghanistan.”

“Amends the Afghanistan Freedom Support Act of 2002 to revise the provisions respecting assistance to women and girls in Afghanistan. Extends funding authority.”

“Expresses the sense of Congress that the President should: (1) condition the provision of such assistance on the recipient adhering to international standards for women’s rights and human rights; and (2) ensure that Afghan women-led nongovernmental organizations with demonstrated experience in delivering services to Afghan women and children receive grants without ethnic, religious, or any other discrimination.”

July 21 – Equal Rights Amendment Reintroduced in Congress

On July 21, 2009, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney held a press conference announcing the reintroduction of the Equal Rights Amendment into the U.S. House of Representatives.

July 21, 2009 Press Conference - Congresswoman Maloney Announces the Reintroduction of the Equal Rights Amendment

The text of this Joint Resolution is as follows:

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States relative to equal rights for men and women.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled (two-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States:

“SECTION 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”

“SECTION 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.”

“SECTION 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.”

The press conference was held at the House Triangle area near the Capitol and was attended by 30-40 individuals including Congressional leaders, leaders and supporters of women’s rights organizations (including ERA NOW, ERA Campaign Network, National Organization for Women, League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area, Women’s Research & Education Institute, and the National Women’s History Museum. Jeffrey Imm also attended in support of the E.R.A. on behalf of the Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) organization.

Once this is passed by Congress, the next step is to gain ratification by the states. Click here for web sites that provide more information and support organizations to continue the fight for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment.

The Lincoln Memorial says: “All Men Are Created Equal.” When will women be equal in the United States Constitution?

Women Deserve Constitutional Equality Today!

The E.R.A. is Ratified in 35 States, but Still to be Ratified in 15 States:
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia.

Join Responsible for Equality And Liberty on August 26 at the Freedom Plaza in our public awareness campaign to promote the E.R.A.!

DC: Capitol Hill Rally Remembers Tiananmen Martyrs

On June 4, the Initiatives for China and other groups held a Washington DC rally on Capitol Hill remembering the Tiananmen and Beijing martyrs for freedom killed on June 4, 1989. At the Washington DC Capitol Hill rally, a number of individuals spoke on behalf of those continuing to seek liberty and democracy for the Chinese people, as well as remembering those who died in the June 4, 1989 Beijing massacre.

Former Tiananmen Square students and leaders recounted what happened 20 years ago, and they forcefully called for democracy and liberty for the people of China. Tiananmen Square leader Dr. Wang Dan spoke at this Capitol Hill rally. In addition, the heroic Mr. Fang Zheng, who lost both of his legs crushed by a Communist military tank in Tiananmen Square, also was present and honored at the Capitol Hill rally.

Tiananmen Square leader Dr. Wang Dan speaks at June 4, 2009 Capitol Hill rally for freedom

There were numerous attendees from the China Democracy Party organization, whose red and blue striped flags with a white star, dotted the West Lawn of Capitol Hill (China Democracy Party’s English website).

In addition, Dr. Lee Edwards of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation also spoke of his experiences seeking to challenge the Communist Chinese government on the issue of Tiananmen Square, as did several Congressional leaders. The China Support Network (CSN) blog also reported on a statement by U.S. Congressional Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Amnesty International also had a number of attendees at the rally, and had a speaker from their organization addressing the continuing problem in China.

Dr. Lee Edwards of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation speaks

On the Capitol Hill grounds, a replica of the “Goddess of Democracy” was on display in remembrance of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 and Beijing massacre.

Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)‘s Jeffrey Imm attended the rally on Capitol Hill prior to the R.E.A.L. protest outside the Communist Chinese embassy later that afternoon.

Jeffrey Imm of Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) attends June 4, 2009 Capitol Hill Rally Remembering Tiananmen Square

Per the Initiatives for China website, the 20th Anniversary Tiananmen sponsors, cosponsors, and participants:

“(Mainland) China New Democracy Party, (Outside Mainland China) Initiatives for China, Asian Human Rights Coalition, Uyghur American Conference, International Campaign for Tibet, Friends of the Falun Gong, Amnesty International, Pan Asian Human Rights Foundation, Allies of the Guard of Canadian Values, China Rights Network (Canada), June 4 Massacre Investigation, Democratic Team in Los Angeles, Federation for a Democratic China, Chinese Liberal Democratic Party, Society for Chinese Students and Scholars (Germany, Independent Federation of Chinese Students and Scholars (US), Sydney Workshop for Democratic China (AUS). Hong Kong Federation for a Democratic China, Asia Pacific Human Rights Foundation, Anti Political Persecution Alliance of China, Chinese Coalition for Citizens Rights, Chinese Democracy Promotive Society, Chinese Democracy Party USA Headquarters, China Democracy Forum (NY), Chinese Alliance for Democracy, The Overseas Chinese Coalition of Australia, China Social Democratic Party, Asian Pacific Human Rights Coalition, Chinese Constitutionalists Association.”

Other Images:

U.S. House of Representatives passes H. Res. 489, for the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square

Full text of the resolution:

Recognizing the twentieth anniversary of the suppression of protesters and citizens in and around Tiananmen Square in Beijing, People’s Republic of China, on June 3 and 4, 1989 and expressing sympathy to the families of those killed, tortured, and imprisoned in connection with the democracy protests in Tiananmen Square and other parts of China on June 3 and 4, 1989 and thereafter;

Whereas freedom of expression and assembly are fundamental human rights that belong to all people, and are recognized as such under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

Whereas June 4th, 2009, marks the 20th anniversary of the day in 1989 when the People’s Liberation Army and other security forces finished carrying out the orders of Chinese leaders to use lethal force to disperse demonstrators in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square;

Whereas the death on April 15, 1989 of Hu Yaobang, former General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, was followed by peaceful protests throughout China calling for the elimination of corruption and acceleration of economic and political reforms, especially freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly; and calling for a dialogue between protesters and Chinese authorities on these issues;

Whereas by early May 1989, citizens advocating publicly for democratic reform across China included not only students, but also government employees, journalists, workers, police, members of the armed forces and other citizens;

Whereas on May 20, 1989, martial law was declared in Beijing after authorities had failed to persuade demonstrators to leave Tiananmen Square;

Whereas during the late afternoon and early evening hours of June 3, 1989, ten- to fifteen thousand helmeted, armed troops carrying automatic weapons and travelling in large truck convoys moved into Beijing to “clear the Square” and surrounding streets of demonstrators;

Whereas on the night of June 3 and continuing into the morning of June 4, 1989, soldiers in armored columns of tanks outside of Tiananmen Square fired directly at citizens and indiscriminately into crowds, inflicting high civilian casualties, and killing or injuring hundreds of unarmed civilians, who reportedly ranged in age from 9 years old to 61 years old; and whereas tanks crushed some protesters and onlookers to death.

Whereas even after 20 years, the exact number of dead and wounded remains unclear; credible sources believe that a number much larger than that officially reported actually died in Beijing during the period of military control; credible sources estimate that the numbers of wounded at least were in the hundreds; detentions at the time were in the thousands, and some political prisoners who were sentenced in connection with the events surrounding June 4, 1989 still languish in Chinese prisons;

Whereas there are Chinese citizens still imprisoned for “counter-revolutionary” offenses allegedly committed during the 1989 demonstrations, even though, according to the 1997 revision of China’s Criminal Law, the “offenses” for which they were convicted are no longer crimes.

Whereas the Tiananmen Mothers is a group of relatives and friends of those killed in June 1989 whose demands include the right to mourn victims publicly, to call for a full and public accounting of the wounded and dead, and the release of those who remain imprisoned for participating in the 1989 protests;

Whereas members of the Tiananmen Mothers group have faced arrest, harassment and discrimination; the group’s Web site is blocked in China; and international cash donations made to the group to support families of victims have been frozen by Chinese authorities;

Whereas Chinese authorities censor information that does not conform to the official version of events surrounding the Tiananmen crackdown, and limits or prohibits information about the Tiananmen crackdown from appearing at all in textbooks in China;

Whereas Chinese authorities continue to suppress peaceful dissent by harassing, detaining or imprisoning journalists, advocates for worker rights, religious believers, and other individuals in China, including in Xinjiang and in Tibet who seek to express their political dissent, ethnic identity or religious views peacefully and freely;

Whereas Chinese authorities continue to harass and detain advocates for democratic processes such as Mr. Liu Xiaobo, a Tiananmen Square protester, prominent intellectual, dissident writer, and more recently a signer of Charter 08 (a call for peaceful political reform and respect for the rule of law published on-line last December by over 300 citizens and subsequently endorsed by thousands more), who remains under house arrest.

Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives —

(A) expresses sympathy to the families of those killed, tortured, and imprisoned as a result of their participation in the democracy protests in Tiananmen Square and elsewhere in China on June 3-4, 1989 and thereafter, and all those persons who have suffered for their efforts to keep that struggle alive during the last two decades;

(B) calls on the People’s Republic of China to invite full and independent investigations into the Tiananmen Square crackdown, assisted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Committee of the Red Cross;

(C) calls on the legal authorities of the People’s Republic of China to review immediately the cases of those still imprisoned for participating in the 1989 protests for compliance with internationally recognized standards of fairness and due process in judicial proceedings and to release those individuals imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their internationally-recognized rights;

(D) calls on the People’s Republic of China to end its harassment and detention of and its discrimination against those who were involved in the 1989 protests not only in Beijing, but in other parts of China where protests took place; and to end its harassment and detention of those who continue to advocate peacefully for political reform, like Mr. Liu Xiaobo, a signer of Charter 08 who remains under house arrest, and his wife, Liu Xia.

(E) calls on the People’s Republic of China to allow protest participants who escaped to or are living in exile in the United States and other countries, or who reside outside of China because they have been “blacklisted” in China as a result of their peaceful protest activity, to return to China without risk of retribution or repercussion.

(F) calls on the Administration and Members of the Congress to mark the 20th Anniversary of the events at Tiananmen Square appropriately and effectively by taking steps that include: meeting whenever and wherever possible with participants in the demonstrations who are living in the United States, and meeting with others outside of China who have been “blacklisted” in China as a result of their peaceful protest activities; signaling support for those in China who demand an accounting of the events surrounding June 4th, 1989; and expressing support for those advocating for accountable and democratic governance in China.

Also FYI:

Ron Paul criticizes House Resolution 489:
— “As to the substance of the resolution, I find it disturbing that the House is going out of its way to meddle in China’s domestic politics, which is none of our business”

Contact Congress on Open Fuel Standards (OFS) Act to Reduce Funding of Extremism

Contact Congress on Open Fuel Standards (OFS) Act to Reduce Funding of Extremism

The advocates of the ideology of extremism have financially benefited from weak mile per gallon standards and limited alternative fuel options for American automobiles. As an American security measure, please contact your Congressional representative and let them know your support for H.R. 1476 Open Fuel Standards (OFS) Act — see GovTrack website, see text of bill

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