NOW Celebrates Helms' Departure from Senate, Looks Toward Feminists to Fill Ultraconservatives' Seats
August 23, 2001
NOW Celebrates Helms' Departure from Senate, Looks Toward Feminists to Fill Ultraconservatives' Seats
August 23, 2001
"Millions of women will breathe a sigh of relief when Jesse Helms leaves the U.S. Senate," said National Organization for Women (NOW) President Kim Gandy. "His rants against women's rights, his ignorant statements about lesbians and gays, and his opposition to civil rights and reproductive freedom have made him a darling of the radical right and a danger to women everywhere."
"Until the Senate changed hands this year, Helms had blocked ratification of an important U.N. treaty, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)," Gandy said. "He effectively prevented the Senate from even considering this treaty." More than 165 nations have ratified CEDAW -- the U.S. is one of the few nations that has yet to do so.
"Helms even went so far as to bully his colleagues who support the treaty," Gandy continued. "In 1999, Helms ordered security to forcibly remove ten female members of the House of Representatives after they attempted to present him with a letter of support for CEDAW. Adding injury to insult, before ejecting the women he said, 'Please be a lady'. His lack of respect for women is just as deplorable as his opposition to women's rights."
"NOW activists in North Carolina and around the country are gearing up to elect women's rights supporters to all levels of government in 2002," Gandy said.
"With support from our grassroots network, we will soon send our Senate allies reinforcements like North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall, who is expected to run for Helms' seat."
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