2000

WHEREAS, crucial women's rights are at stake in the 2000 presidential elections; and

WHEREAS, although George W. Bush is masquerading as a moderate, his true record on women's rights is abysmal; and

WHEREAS, the next president will have the power to appoint Supreme Court Justices who can either secure or destroy our constitutional and reproductive rights and George W. Bush has cited Justice Scalia as his most admired Supreme Court Justice; and

WHEREAS, it is obvious from poll numbers that Bush's record on women's issues has not yet been clearly exposed;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that NOW urge NOW/PAC [to] continue its public information campaign exposing Bush's record on our issues; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NOW chapters and activists work to educate their communities on the risks to women of a Bush presidency; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that NOW activists form "Bush-whacker" teams to shadow Bush at campaign appearances to remind the public of his positions on our issues.

2000

WHEREAS, increasing numbers of poor people in the United States are being denied their basic human rights to housing, food, education, health care, jobs at living wages, and economic security; and

WHEREAS, the majority of people who live in poverty are women and their children; and

WHEREAS, these conditions will worsen as millions more are cut off from receiving public assistance this year and experience the tragic effects of welfare "reform"; and

WHEREAS, in response to these conditions, the poor in the United States are organizing and fighting for the human right to a full and dignified life and to create a world without poverty; and

WHEREAS, the National Organization for Women is determined to take bold steps to eradicate the poverty and violence that plagues women; and

WHEREAS, both the Republican and Democratic elected officials and parties are responsible for the economic misery experienced by women and children in the United States; and

WHEREAS, the Kensington Welfare Rights Union and the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign are holding the March for Economic Human Rights to protest these conditions;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that NOW endorse the March for Economic Human Rights on July 31 in Philadelphia, the opening day of the Republican National Convention, as a step toward making poverty at home visible; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that NOW also support anti-poverty protest activities around the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles in August 2000 as we build toward the World March of Women 2000 to end violence and poverty to be held on October 15, 2000.

2000

WHEREAS, millions of women will benefit from the development and distribution of mifepristone, which is a safe, effective method of early pregnancy termination and shows promise as a possible treatment for ovarian cancer, endometriosis, fibroid tumors, meningioma, and some types of breast cancer, and in assisting labor induction; and

WHEREAS, mifepristone's availability in the U.S. will make a very early and private abortion option available to women, increase access to abortion services, reframe the abortion debate, and ultimately curb the targeting of physicians and clinics by anti-abortion extremists; and

WHEREAS, anti-abortion politics have already brought research on mifepristone to a standstill, and only when mifepristone wins approval as a method of early abortion will adequate supplies of the medication be available for development of the drug's other indications; and

WHEREAS, the FDA is reportedly discussing onerous restrictions that are unprecedented and medically unnecessary, and that limit access to a safe and very early form of medical abortion, which would mean that mifepristone would remain largely unavailable for research on its other important uses, and which would make it almost financially impossible for a company to continue to supply the medication; and

WHEREAS, in contrast to the process with mifepristone, the FDA approved Viagra with unprecedented speed and has not issued any cautions or callbacks, even though more than 65 men have died from conditions relating to their use of Viagra, while after 20 years of testing and use by women around the world with no reported complications, mifepristone is still unavailable to women in the U.S.;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Organization for Women call on the President of the United States and Jane Henney, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, to expeditiously approve mifepristone, without unnecessary restrictions that interfere with women's health care, the practice of medicine, or life-saving scientific research; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that NOW urge all activists to mobilize at the state and local levels in support of approval of mifepristone by means of signing and gathering petitions and sending them to the President and Commissioner Henney, as well as by making special outreach efforts to medical and scientific communities to register their support for approving mifepristone.

2000

WHEREAS, the National Organization for Women has taken the U.S. leadership for the World March of Women 2000; and

WHEREAS, the current U.S. list of demands does not specifically include the two demands for lesbian rights included in the international platform; and

WHEREAS, current international instruments do not include protections of lesbian rights; and,

WHEREAS, the world demands allow for the inclusion of specific principles concerning lesbian rights in the list of demands; and WHEREAS, the National Organization for Women has a strong commitment to lesbian rights;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Organization for Women actively advocate for the U.S. steering committee for the March to add the specific demand on violence, demand V-10, "That, based on the principle of equality of all persons, the United Nations and States of the international community recognize formally that a person's sexual orientation shall not bar them from the full exercise of the rights set out in the following international instruments: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women" and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that NOW actively advocate for the addition to the U.S. list of demands on violence, demand V-11, "That the right to asylum for victims of discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation be adopted as soon as possible."

2000

WHEREAS, on January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation; and

WHEREAS, June 19, 1865, is traditionally observed as the day the message of freedom reached descendants of enslaved Africans in Texas; and

WHEREAS, U.S. Representative William Jefferson from Louisiana is sponsoring legislation to pass a bill to make Juneteenth a national holiday;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Organization for Women educate its membership on the importance of this holiday for the people of the United States; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the National Organization for Women call upon its officers, staff, membership, and allies to support the passage of Juneteenth as a national holiday.

2000

WHEREAS, the current minimum wage of $5.15 per hour is woefully inadequate as a livable wage; and

WHEREAS, raising the minimum wage by $1.00 an hour spread over a three-year period, as currently proposed by the Republican majority in Congress, will not help this situation; and

WHEREAS, studies of minimum adequate living standards point to a wage of $9.00 an hour or more as a minimum livable wage; and

WHEREAS, the indexing of social security benefits has been a big factor in raising elderly women out of poverty; and

WHEREAS, a majority of people earning the minimum wage are women who are in need of increased earnings;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that NOW reconfirm the importance of increasing the minimum wage and communicate that to our legislators; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NOW object to the inadequacy of the proposed $1 increase spread over three years and push for a more substantial increase to achieve a livable wage; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that NOW work in coalition with other groups to establish a livable indexed wage.

2000

WHEREAS, NOW has as its major purpose the commitment to equality for women; and

WHEREAS, we have an increasing awareness of the globalization and interconnection of women world- wide and their struggles for equality; and

WHEREAS, CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women) establishes a worldwide commitment to combat discrimination against women and girls; and

WHEREAS, CEDAW obligates those countries that ratify it to take all appropriate measures to ensure the full development and advancement of women and girls in the wide-ranging spheres of politics, education, employment, and economics; social, legal, marital, and family relations; and health care, specifically reproductive health care; and

WHEREAS, 165 countries of the world have ratified CEDAW and the U.S. is the only remaining industrial nation that has not ratified it along with a small minority of countries including Afghanistan, North Korea, Iran, Sudan, and Saudi Arabia; and

WHEREAS, Jesse Helms, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has single-handily blocked consideration and action on CEDAW in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and

WHEREAS, the ratification of a treaty requires only a 2/3 vote of the U.S. Senate and the President's signature; and

WHEREAS, under the U.S. system of government, a treaty is stronger legally in federal court than an act of Congress and a level just under the U.S. Constitution itself; and

WHEREAS, U.S. ratification would not only help women and girls in this country, but also cause other countries to take CEDAW and its implementation more seriously; and

WHEREAS, CEDAW is currently burdened with reservations, declarations and understandings (RDUs) which substantially weaken its effectiveness.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that NOW commit to a strategy toward ratification of CEDAW without any reservations, declarations or understandings (RDUs) as a vehicle to improve the status of women and girls legally in the U.S.; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this project be built as a massive public education campaign on the ongoing need for constitutional equality; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that NOW launch this effort by adding the ratification of CEDAW, with no reservations, declarations and understandings (RDUs) as a major goal of the World March of Women to be held in Washington, DC on October 15, 2000; thus showing the need for equality for women in the United States and globally.

2000

WHEREAS, the United States Constitution still fails to guarantee equal rights and equal justice to female citizens, to their continuing serious detriment, just because they are women, not men: and

WHEREAS, the "classic" Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) ("Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex"), because it has already overcome the arduous difficulties of being passed by both houses of Congress and achieving ratification by 35 of the required 38 states, provides the best, and perhaps only, opportunity to correct that wrong and achieve that vital guarantee soon; and

WHEREAS, work for and achievement of that bedrock constitutional guarantee for women will neither conflict with, nor handicap, efforts toward other feminist goals such as reproductive rights and rights based on sexual orientation and race/color/ethnicity, and the ERA will in fact protect female members of every group from any laws and/or court decisions that discriminate against them relative to male members of the same group;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that NOW support efforts to achieve ratification of a constitutional equal rights amendment.

2000

WHEREAS, women and their families continue to be threatened by violence in their homes, schools and communities, and

WHEREAS, the programs created under the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 have already made a difference in thousands of women's lives, bolstered prosecution of domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse, increased victims' services and resources for law enforcement, and created a National Domestic Violence hotline; and

WHEREAS, funding for this bill is due to expire;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Organization for Women organize chapters and states to put pressure on members of the 106th Congress to pass the Violence Reauthorization Bill H.R. 1248 or the Biden-Hatch VAWA of 2000 S. 2787 in this session of Congress; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NOW recommend that the NOW Political Action Committee (PAC) use the issue of violence against women as one of its criteria for endorsing or denying endorsement to any member of Congress or candidate for Congress; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NOW recommend to NOW PAC that they support candidates who meet both our criteria for electoral support on other issues and who support full VAWA funding and other aspects of H.R. 1248 and S. 2787; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that if VAWA funding is not fully authorized, NOW emphasize this Congressional failure as a major campaign issue to be addressed in the World March of Women 2000; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that NOW and its members support and press for passage of H.R. 1248 and S. 2787 through phone calls, e-Mails, letters, faxes, and personal visits to Congressmembers' and Senators' district offices.

2000

WHEREAS, NOW demands full equality for all women with equal access to the responsibilities and privileges afforded by the laws and institutions of this country; and

WHEREAS, a majority of the members of the Vermont State Legislature demonstrated extraordinary political courage in voting to legalize civil unions for lesbian and gay citizens; and

WHEREAS, the governor of Vermont demonstrated similar political courage in signing this ground- breaking legislation; and

WHEREAS, the recognition of civil unions represents a substantial step toward full recognition of lesbian and gay relationships and toward equal rights for lesbians; and

WHEREAS, the governor and legislators supporting civil unions have been targeted for defeat by a virulently right-wing opposition; and

WHEREAS, our support for these candidates will send a positive message to progressive legislators in other states, and political punishment of the governor and supportive legislators will set back efforts to pass similar legislation in other states; and

WHEREAS, Vermont law severely limits the financial contributions candidates may receive from out of state;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that this conference urges the NOW Equality PAC Board to explore methods by which NOW and its PACs may legally support the governor and legislators under attack, that the PAC move quickly to offer endorsement to those candidates in this category who otherwise meet NOW Equality PAC standards, and that these efforts include communication and coordination of effort with the various PACs specifically formed to support these candidates; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the National NOW staff inform activists within driving distance of Vermont of volunteer opportunities in the campaigns of these endorsed candidates; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that NOW support a campaign to continue the education of voters concerning the impact of civil unions and/or same sex marriage on the rights of lesbians and gay men.

2000

WHEREAS, historically the Supreme Court and its interpretation of the Constitution has provided some protection for women's reproductive rights from the excesses of the Congress and state legislatures; and

WHEREAS, the recent 5-4 Supreme Court decision in Stenberg v. Carhart, overturning an extreme and deceptive Nebraska abortion procedures ban by the narrowest of margins, underscores the increasing fragility of those rights; and

WHEREAS, we have lost (or won) several important decisions affecting women's rights and civil rights by a 5-4 margin, including Brzonkala v. Morrison, in which the Supreme Court found that Congress had no Constitutional authority to enact the civil rights remedy for women in the Violence Against Women Act; and

WHEREAS, this reasoning could be applied to a number of hard-fought federal statutes designed to protect or advance our rights, including the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (FACE) and remaining parts of the Violence Against Women Act; and

WHEREAS, this activist court also allowed the Boy Scouts of America to expel a Scout leader solely on the basis of his sexual orientation (the Dale case); and

WHEREAS, this activist Court, with its "new federalism" approach, has already overturned the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) as it applies to state and local employees, giving city, county and state governments the right to freely discriminate against their employees on the basis of age (the Kimel case); and

WHEREAS, this same "new federalism" approach could remove from hundreds of thousands of state and local employees the protection of other federal laws, including the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act; and the Equal Pay Act, among others; and

WHEREAS, this danger has been virtually ignored by the media and is unknown to most women; and

WHEREAS, the next President of the United States will appoint at least one, and perhaps as many as three, new Justices to the Court; and

WHEREAS, even a single conservative appointee in the mold of Justices Scalia and Thomas will result in a 4-5 balance against reproductive freedom for women and will put all of our civil rights in jeopardy; and

WHEREAS, George W. Bush, the Republican Party's nominee, has identified Scalia and Thomas as the Justices he most admires,