Since its passage on June 23, 1972, there have been repeated attacks on Title IX, the civil rights law that guarantees equal educational opportunities to women and girls. After eight years of Bush administration regulations limiting the impact and effectiveness of Title IX, there is now an opportunity to reinvigorate the law and once again prohibit sex discrimination in educational programs receiving federal funds.

In a preliminary hearing Monday, singer Chris Brown avoided jail time altogether and pled not guilty of assaulting ex-girlfriend and singer Rihanna in February. After the assault, shocking photos of Rihanna surfaced, showing her face badly swollen and bruised.

In a plea deal, Brown received no jail time -- only community service, domestic violence counseling, and five years of supervised probation for the felony assault charge.

"Even Paris Hilton got more jail time!" said NOW President Kim Gandy. "Young girls and boys watching this unfold on TV will see that men who commit violence against women practically go scot-free," said Gandy.

This weekend members of the National Organization for Women (NOW) cast their votes for a new team of leaders to direct the largest grassroots feminist organization in the country over the next four years. NOW delegates elected Terry O'Neill, who served as the group's membership vice president from 2001 to 2005, to succeed President Kim Gandy.

The National Organization for Women calls on President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder to withdraw the U.S. Department of Justice brief filed in support of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and to publicly renounce this discriminatory law. The brief was reportedly written by Bush administration holdovers, and if that is the case, this administration must immediately make it clear that President Obama does not support this position.

Under DOMA, same-sex couples who wed in states where their marriages are legal are still denied federal marriage benefits, and other states may refuse to recognize their unions.

"President Obama ran on a Democratic Platform that specifically said: 'We oppose the Defense of Marriage Act and all attempts to use this issue to divide us,'" said NOW President Kim Gandy. "This brief is indeed divisive, and the administration must disavow it immediately."

Indianapolis will host the 2009 National Organization for Women Conference and NOW Election, June 19-21, at the Sheraton Indianapolis Hotel and Suites. NOW's conference theme this year, Turning the Tide for Equality, reflects the changing political landscape and renewed sense of hope for advances in women's rights. It is also a fitting theme as NOW prepares to elect a new president and leadership team.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Governor Sarah Palin. SpongeBob SquarePants. What could these three possibly have in common? The fact is, while their names frequently turn up in the media, the context isn't always so nice. Sotomayor's intelligence and temperament are questioned based on gender and ethnic stereotypes. Palin and her daughter are the butt of sexist jokes. And the cartoon SpongeBob is used in a commercial that exploits women in order to sell burgers to kids.

For these reasons and many more, the National Organization for Women is re-launching its popular online Media Hall of Shame. With the help of NOW members and other website visitors, we will be on the look-out in the mainstream media for instances of sexism, racism, sexual exploitation, violence against women and other offenses. Frequent posts will highlight the latest offenses, giving people a chance to rate them and urging activists to write to the media outlets to express their outrage.

The loss of Dr. George Tiller on May 31 is compounded today by news that the clinic he ran, Women's Health Care Services, will permanently close. His family's decision not to reopen the clinic after Dr. Tiller's murder is understandable. The fault for the closing of this clinic lies squarely with the anti-abortion movement, bent on denying women their reproductive rights.

The National Organization for Women urges legislators to support the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act, which would guarantee federal workers four weeks of paid parental leave for a new child. Paid parental leave for the 2.7 million workers employed by the federal government will help millions of working families right now, and can be a model for achieving paid parental and family leave for the rest of our nation's workers, setting the standard for upcoming discussions about policies intended to help families balance work and family life.

NOW President Kim Gandy said, "Women across the country have lost a champion today. The cold-blooded murder of Dr. George Tiller this morning in church is a stark reminder that women's bodies are still a battleground, and health care professionals are on the frontlines."

"Today's decision by the California Supreme Court to uphold Prop 8 is a devastating setback, but I believe it will be another galvanizing moment in the struggle for equal marriage," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "We commend the court for allowing to stand the 18,000 same-sex marriages that took place under the court's earlier decision."

"NOW members will be out in force at protests in California and across the country Tuesday and in coming days. And we will continue working to right this wrong," said Gandy.

This morning we will celebrate, and this afternoon NOW will launch our "Confirm Her" campaign to ensure the swift confirmation of the next Supreme Court Justice.

Nominated to serve as the third woman and first Hispanic on the Supreme Court in the history of the United States, Judge Sotomayor will serve the nation with distinction. She brings a lifelong commitment to equality, justice and opportunity, as well as the respect of her peers, unassailable integrity, and a keen intellect informed by experience. President Obama said he wanted a justice with "towering intellect" and a "common touch" and he found both in Judge Sotomayor.

What more do women want? We want a swift confirmation in the U.S. Senate, and Associate Justice Sotomayor to join Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Court before the Senate's August recess.

NOW President Kim Gandy said, "It goes without saying that the combination of war, economic collapse, piracy and a potential pandemic may have removed many important items from the top of the president's legislative agenda, including the Freedom of Choice Act. But I urge President Obama to maintain his public support for this critical legislation, which he enthusiastically endorsed during the campaign."

"In just 100 days President Obama has begun reversing the extensive damage done to women's rights these last eight years, giving us an idea of what is possible with enlightened leadership," said NOW President Kim Gandy.

"The jury is in, the studies are done, and the conclusions are consistent: the gender pay gap is alive and well," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "The disparity between what women and men are paid stubbornly persists, even after controlling for years of education, work experience and type of occupation."

NOW President Kim Gandy said, "NOW cheers the formation of the White House Council on Women and Girls, which was created by executive order of President Barack Obama today. It was a pleasure for me to be at the White House to hear the president make this commitment to supporting women and girls in such strong and unequivocal terms. It was a heartening moment for those of us who have worked so hard for this day."

Statement of NOW President Kim Gandy

As we mark International Women's Day on March 8, an increasing number of women around the world find themselves and their families in dire economic circumstances. While we as a nation focus on the economic realities here in the U.S., we must not let global starvation, violence, trafficking, and the lack of health care, clean water, and basic necessities fall lower on our priority list.

Nearly one billion people live on $1 or less a day, and women constitute about two-thirds of that number. Women in poor countries face daily struggles and life-threatening challenges. Hunger and disease continue to cause death and suffering for millions. Even in developed nations, women in low-income families struggle to provide food and shelter.

The Obama administration announced today that it is moving to rescind the controversial Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) refusal or "conscience" rule.

"This is a positive move by the Obama administration, and a demonstration of the president's commitment to women and reproductive health care," said NOW President Kim Gandy.

This dangerous HHS rule, adopted in the final hours of the Bush administration, allows health care workers to deny any medical service -- such as birth control or emergency contraception -- that they find objectionable.

Felicidades a nuestra distinguida Secretaria Solis

"Today's vote by the U.S. Senate to confirm Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor is a victory for all working women and families," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "As a champion of worker's rights and equality for women, Hilda Solis will return confidence to this cabinet agency that has for too long ignored our nation's labor force."

"Whether you are rich or poor, famous or not, young or old--domestic violence does not discriminate," says NOW President Kim Gandy.

The recent arrest of R&B star Chris Brown, who reportedly assaulted and threatened singer Rihanna, preventing her participation in the Grammys, has brought the ever-present issue of violence against women into the public spotlight once again.

"Everyone is talking about this case because it involves two popular recording artists, but the sad reality is that domestic violence and dating violence happen every day, even among young teens, and the impact is both far-reaching and under-reported," said Gandy.

With the withdrawal of Sen. Tom Daschle from consideration, the National Organization for Women urges President Barack Obama to nominate another strong and consistent advocate for universal health care to the position of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) has long focused on health care as a priority, and with her background as a social worker she is well positioned to take the helm of this agency that is so critical to women and families.

Statement of NOW President Kim Gandy:

This day has been a long time coming for Lilly Ledbetter and every woman who has suffered pay discrimination. It is an important symbol that the Lilly Ledbetter Act will be the first piece of legislation signed by President Barack Obama.

"President Obama took the side of justice today," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "For eight years the Global Gag Rule has forced international family planning organizations to make an impossible choice between providing comprehensive reproductive health care, and receiving funds that enable them to help women in need. Women around the world have died as a result of this heartless policy."

Today New York Gov. David Paterson picked women's rights supporter Kirsten Gillibrand to fill the Senate seat vacated by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "She has big shoes to fill, and we are confident that she will be a senator who will continue the fight for the women, girls and families of New York and the nation," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "We are pleased a pro-choice woman has been appointed, and we expect that Gillibrand will take up key issues where Clinton left off."

Tonight the Senate passed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act by a bipartisan vote of 61 to 36, vindicating Lilly Ledbetter's long search for redress after 19 years of pay discrimination.

"This is an important first step in our efforts to undo years of backsliding on the right to be paid a fair and equitable wage," said National Organization for Women President Kim Gandy. "The Ledbetter bill will allow redress for workers with the energy and willpower to seek redress in the courts, but we have a long way to go before we have fair pay for women, and laws with real teeth."

NOW President Kim Gandy says, "As we return to national leaders who support women's rights, we anticipate a stronger backlash and more virulent attack on women's reproductive freedom. But nothing will diminish our determination to restore the rights we've lost."