How can people like Ginni Rometty, the first female CEO of IBM, so easily jump on the bandwagon of the so-called Equality Act and fail to see its obvious threats to women?
The Equality Act, which would amend existing federal civil rights laws (including the Civil Rights Act of 1964) to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected characteristics, seeks to erase the understood binary definition of sex as male or female, and enshrine a new definition of sex that includes a person’s perception of his or herself – not the actual chromosomal DNA that identifies his or her true sex. [More …]
On Thursday, Senator Cornyn (R-Texas) and Senator Feinstein (R-California) introduced the Debbie Smith Act of 2019, a bill that would reauthorize funding aimed at increasing capacity for DNA testing to reduce the rape kit backlog. The Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act was first signed into law in 2004 in response to the story of Debbie Smith, a rape victim who only saw justice because of DNA evidence and testing.
Last July, CWALAC CEO and President Penny Nance testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on her experience as an attempted rape victim and why we must work to end the backlog. Unfortunately, after fifteen years since the inception of the Debbie Smith Act and over $1 billion spent, an unknown number of rape kits still sit untested in evidence rooms across the country. Meanwhile, the statute of limitations ticks on with no resolution for victims.
CWALAC partnered with RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network) on specific improvements to the Debbie Smith Act, introduced by Sen. Cornyn, that would increase prioritization of rape kit testing and improve accountability in tracking the backlog of sexual assault cases. A recent New York Times piece highlighted Maisha Sudbeck, a rape victim who saw justice years after her assault only because of funds prioritized through programs to clear the backlog. Ms. Sudbeck cited the testing of her rape kit as “a catalyst for hope.”
Not only is testing these kits a crucial step in pursuing justice for victims and possible exoneration for the wrongfully accused, it often shows patterns of assault and can take serial perpetrators off the street. Ms. Sudbeck’s kit showed a hit for a man who had raped at least six other women. This phenomenon is far from uncommon. One study found that about half of the DNA kits tested resulted in hits for serial offenders. In her Senate Judiciary testimony, Penny stated, “We must push ourselves until each sexual assault kit is accounted for and every last one is processed — because every kit represents a brave woman waiting for justice.” CWALAC will continue to work with Congress to ensure this crucial legislation is passed, so that every victim has the chance for justice.
In a recent Public Notice, the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Media Bureau sought comments on “the accuracy of the television content rating system, known as the TV Parental Guidelines, and the ability of the governing body for TV ratings, the TV Parental Guidelines Oversight Monitoring Board, to oversee the rating system and address public concerns.”
We thank those of you who took the time to write comments in response to our post. It is important for the commission to hear from you personally.
Your voice will also be heard as a supporter of Concerned Women for America (CWA). We submitted an official comment on your behalf, asking the FCC to “put American families
first.” In it, we argue the current rating system benefits the big entertainment conglomerates to the detriment of families and, especially, children.
An effort that was presented as aiming to benefit the public has in fact developed, unsurprisingly, into a system benefiting those who control it, the entertainment industry. Television is more dangerous for families today than it was before this system was devised.
You ask, “Are programs with violent, sexual, or other content that may be inappropriate for children being rated accurately?” No, they are not. Graphic sexual scenes, adult topics, violence, and profanity are routinely rated as appropriate for children. TV-14 and TV-PG ratings are routinely abused to peddle violent, lewd, and salacious content, to the horror of parents who are helpless once their children are exposed to the material without proper warning. This is, of course, an ideal business model which gives advertisers a much larger audience, but it is most certainly not in the best interest of families.
A major breakdown in the implementation of the rating system is the unaccountability of the industry-proposed and self-governing Oversight Monitoring Board (OMB). Here, too, we raise serious concerns on your behalf.
This is a darkly covered body overwhelmingly composed of industry members who even get to choose the very few advocates for families that are part of it. Transparency, which should be at the core of such a body, is virtually non-existent. There is no record of their meetings, when and how often they meet, what is discussed — everything is secret. How can the public feel any assurance that their complaints are being handled appropriately when the people they are complaining about get to judge themselves in secret with virtually no accountability?
The entertainment industry has been masterful in keeping this body under a deep cloud. Most parents do not have any idea that OMB even exists, let alone who is a member of it. They are completely unaccountable. How can we allow this to continue? CWA supporters can’t believe it when we inform them that not even a representative of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is part of this mysterious group. And since no press is allowed in the meetings either, can there be any doubt that the public is systematically and intentionally being kept in the dark on this process?
We conclude by urging the FCC to intervene.
It is time the FCC takes the concerns of parents in this area seriously and exercises the considerable power Congress has granted it to act in the best interest of the public. The entertainment industry has been granted the chance it wanted to do the right thing by families and come up with a process that could empower citizens with the information they need to make the best decisions for their families. But it has taken advantage of the public, betraying our trust, and it is time for the FCC to intervene.
Are you frustrated and bothered by what you see on TV? You are not alone. In recent years, Hollywood has taken advantage of their self-regulated TV ratings system and cable TV looks more like HBO than family-friendly programming. Networks advertise their mature and explicit programming during family-friendly shows; these commercials include overtly sexual themes, violence, and foul language. Most advertisers will not run ads during “mature audience” rated programming; therefore, Hollywood has no incentive to rate any program “mature” and, instead, rates things that should be for mature audiences as “TV-14” or acceptable for children over 14 years old to view. There is virtually no “G”-rated TV on prime-time.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is responsible for evaluating the TV ratings system and determining whether or not children are adequately protected from violent, foul, and graphic content. Right now, the FCC is accepting comments regarding the TV ratings system and whether or not they are doing their job to protect our children. There is no doubt that Hollywood, with their vast resources, are inundating this system to avoid further regulation. The content on cable TV is shocking, and no industry, especially one as corrupt and worldly as Hollywood, should be able to regulate themselves.
Submit a comment to President Trump today and tell him you are fed up with the graphic content being shown to our children.
Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee submitted these comments in support of new Title IX regulations that will promote justice in cases of sexual harassment in an educational setting.
Click here to submit your comments of support. The deadline is midnight on Monday, January 28, 2919.
The following is a statement made by Mrs. Beverly LaHaye, Concerned Women for America’s Founder and Chairwoman; Penny Nance, CWA’s CEO and President; and CWA’s board members, Jean Crisp, Janne Myrdal, Ann Hettinger, Lori Scheck, Terri Johannessen, Betty Jane Strong, Cheryl Keithly, Angel Voggenreiter, and Jon Whetsell:
“Concerned Women for America (CWA), the largest public policy organization for women in the country, calls on Congress to break through political pride and work together to secure our borders with appropriate and effective means and fix our broken immigration laws.
“As a sovereign nation, it is the duty and right of the U.S. to secure our borders and protect our people. Groups who have encouraged mass and disorganized migration to our borders are manipulating and exploiting vulnerable people for political gain and unduly burden our U.S. Border Patrol. During the journey, almost 1 in 3 women have been sexually abused and many have fallen prey to violence or human trafficking.
“Both parties acknowledge the system must be fixed, and President Trump is more than willing to take on this difficult task. The status quo is hurting both citizens and immigrants. It’s time to stop the political games and work for the good of the country.”
For an interview with Penny Nance, contact Annabelle Rutledge at [email protected] or 916-792-3973.
This Concerned Women for America “The Counterpoint” policy paper suggests a “Three Pillar Strategy” to better prioritize and focus Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) funds, programming, and other resources to uphold the Act’s original intent: to reduce violence against women and to strengthen services and administer justice to women victims of violence.
The so-called transgender moment that followed the celebration of homosexual behavior is giving way to an even darker effort to normalize child sexual exploitation. The Daily Wirereport of an 11-year-old dancing on stage at a gay bar, simulating stripping, while even getting money from adults in the audience, is nothing short of that, the sexual exploitation of children. From the story:
On December 1, an 11-year-old boy dressed in drag danced on stage in a sexual manner at a gay bar in Brooklyn, NY, called 3 Dollar Bill. The child, Desmond Napoles, was dressed as a Gwen Stefani-lookalike — full drag makeup, a blonde wig, and crop top included — as he bounced around onstage to No Doubt’s “Like a Girl” and collected dollar bills from male adults viewing the number.
The written account was disturbing enough, but I was not prepared to see the actual footage of this perversion. Here it is as it was featured on the Ben Shapiro Show:
We should weep for a country and a people that find this acceptable. It is utterly frightening to know it is happening in our country — we are that people.
Friends, the Church cannot stay silent while the mainstreaming of sexual exploitation continues to spread around us. Most people know deep inside this is a terrible development, yet they remain silent, perhaps fearing the cultural cost. Therefore, it is up to you and me, as believers in Truth, to speak out. We are those who have counted the cost and have chosen to still follow Christ. We must stand and speak light into this darkness.
Let us be despised, that God may be glorified.
Children should not be sexually exploited for any reason. This may be a radical statement in this day and age, but it is true. And we must shout it from the rooftops at every turn. It is not liberating or empowering to affirm gender confusion in children for the sake of affirming the rightness of the lifestyle and worldview of adults.
We must identify this as exploitation because the focus of these efforts is the adults who promote it. The pride and self-centeredness of man, this idolatry of the self, is at the center of this movement. It is not scientific or logical or compassionate.
What we are witnessing actually affirms the Scriptures, even while many proport to be breaking out from under its grip. There is a darkening of the mind that occurs when we turn to worship the creatures rather than the Creator (Romans 1:18-32). That is what our generation has chosen — to pursue personal appetites without regard to the common good. “If it feels good, it must be right” is a foolish philosophy. That its popularity continues to grow guarantees us a fool’s harvest. We reap what we sow. And we have sown unrighteousness for far too long for us to expect anything different than what we are seeing today.
Therefore, we must be prepared to be that voice crying out in the wilderness for repentance. We must fight the good fight of faith, that the next generation may turn from our wicked ways and desire to live by faith. But it all starts with our voice. Faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:27).
So, let us speak then, brothers and sisters. Boldly and faithfully. The time is near.
Penny Nance, CEO & President of Concerned Women for America, discusses the secret congressional “hush fund” used by Members of Congress to pay off accusers of sexual misconduct with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson.
In a recent Public Notice, the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Media Bureau sought comments on “the accuracy of the television content rating system, known as the TV Parental Guidelines, and the ability of the governing body for TV ratings, the TV Parental Guidelines Oversight Monitoring Board, to oversee the rating system and address public concerns.”
The following is a statement made by Mrs. Beverly LaHaye, Concerned Women for America’s Founder and Chairwoman; Penny Nance, CWA’s CEO and President; and CWA’s board members, Jean Crisp, Janne Myrdal, Ann Hettinger, Lori Scheck, Terri Johannessen, Betty Jane Strong, Cheryl Keithly, Angel Voggenreiter, and Jon Whetsell: