Jehovah Witness victims of Childhood Sex Abuse - and all supporters from California - Urgent Action Alert! Contact Assembly members today!

by Sol Reform 36 Replies latest watchtower child-abuse

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  Sol Reform

  41 Assembly votes are needed. Please contact all Assembly members today! Ask them to vote YES on SB 131. Call, write, FAX, share this flier, talk to your colleagues, hold a press conference, write to newspapers. However you can help, please help pass SB 131.CA Assembly members:
  
  What can you do? Write your Assembly Member NOW and tell him or her that you support SB 131.

  Tell them that ALL victims support exposing as many predators as possible and keeping kids safer NOW. Be sure to also say that we will NEVER be able to hold public institutions accountable unless we take this important first step.

  You can also throw in the crimes that have been exposed in your area ONLY because of the 2003 window. You can find your Assembly Representative here. For a full list of California Assembly Members, click here. - See more at:http://theworthyadversary.com/2113-sb-131-passes-committee-moves-to-assembly-floor#sthash.3t6qbgZz.ij9sGwcW.dpuf
  
  
  http://assembly.ca.gov/assemblymembers
  
  http://sol-reform.com/News/contact-ca-assembly-members-today-vote-for-sb131-protect-cas-kids-and-give-victims-access-to-justice/
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  Sol Reform

  There was a 2003 'window' for child sex abuse survivors in California . The humbled and embarrassed Catholic Church did not lobby against it then. This time they are.
  
  CALIFORNIA SEX ABUSE BILL ADVANCES
  August 22, 2013 by Bill Filed under Latest News Releases
  Bill Donohue comments on the California bill that would allow those who claim they were molested in a private institution more time to file lawsuits:
  On August 14, SB 131 lost in the Assembly Appropriations Committee by a 6-4 vote; there were seven abstentions. Yesterday, it passed 12-4. The bill now heads to the Assembly; it could be voted on as early as Monday.
  It was the Democrats who made the difference between last week and this week. Last week, they were indecisive; this week they decided to cast their vote in favor of a bill that discriminates against the Catholic Church.
  We need a lawmaker who will introduce a bill that discriminates against the public sector. The bill should suspend the statute of limitations in cases involving the sexual abuse of minors who were victimized in a public school or any other public entity. All private institutions, including Catholic schools, would be given a pass.
  This is the only way to send a message to the public about this phony war on child abuse. Anyone who is serious about this issue would never entertain a bill that had selective application.

  http://www.catholicleague.org/california-sex-abuse-bill-advances/

  LEGISLATURE: Bill would exempt statue of limitations on some sexual abuse suits

  http://www.pe.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20130820-legislature-bill-would-exempt-statue-of-limitations-on-some-sexual-abuse-suits.ece
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  Sol Reform

  
  
  Creates Their Own Action Alert.
  
  

  http://www.la-archdiocese.org/gov/Pages/SB131.aspx

  TAKE ACTION NOW!

  Call, e-mail or write your representative immediately. Write them instantly with our easy to use Online Form. When contacting them, use this simple text:
  "Dear Assembly Member: As a constituent and a Catholic, I am asking that you please Vote No on SB-131. The bill does not protect children; it unfairly targets Catholic and private schools; and it will put the educational and social work of the Church at risk."(see writing tips or personalize and mail the template letter)Be sure to include your name and address.
  Sign-up for Archbishop Gomez's E-Mail list and follow him on Facebook; join the Catholic Legislative Network. "No" on SB 131:
  
  
  Archbishop Gomez is asking all Catholics to contact their Assembly members and Senators and urge them to vote "No" on Senate Bill 131. Simply tell your elected officials to vote "No" because this legislation fails to protect all victims of childhood sexual abuse, discriminates against Catholic schools and other private employers, and puts the social services and educational work of the Church at risk. The Bishops of the California Catholic Conference believe it is urgent for all Catholics to act now.
  
  
  The facts about SB131:
  Senate Bill 131, now before the California Legislature, would suspend for one year a deadline (called a "statute of limitations") to give childhood sexual abuse victims the chance to sue their abusers' employers for damages resulting from their abuse. SB-131 is not good legislation because it does not protect all children. Children who were abused by public school teachers or other public employees are specifically not protected by SB 131. That means this legislation offers no protection for the 92 percent of California's children who attend public schools or for children in foster care or in other public settings. SB-131 unfairly targets only Catholic-run and other private institutions because it only allows lawsuits against private schools and organizations and specifically exempts public schools and other public institutions. The sexual abuse of children is a social reality. It is not limited to private institutions. Any legislation that seeks to deal with this grave problem should be applied to protect victims in all institutions in society - public and private- equally. SB-131 does nothing to increase penalties against the actual abusers of children. The bill allows for monetary damages to be imposed on private employers. But it does not impose any civil or criminal penalties on the perpetrator.
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  Sol Reform

  http://theworthyadversary.com/2129-as-sb131-heads-to-assembly-floor-la-archdiocese-spins-and-presses

  As SB131 heads to Assembly floor, LA Archdiocese spins and presses

  Posted by Joelle Casteix on August 24, 2013 in Child safety, Clergy Abuse Crisis | Subscribe

  SB 131 - The California Child Victims' Act - is scheduled for a floor vote in the Assembly soon.

  And the Archdiocese of LA is pulling out all of the stops. The Archdiocese, in its attempt to defeat the bill, has created a website that allows ordinary folks to send mass emails to legislators. They hope that low-information Catholics - those who aren't following the issue and don't understand the legislation - will just march lock-step with Archbishop Gomez. I would include the link, but I don't want to send them traffic.

  Once you fill out the form, the website automatically generates emails to your particular legislators. Here is the text of the emails that the website generates (with my notes): I am your constituent and I respectfully urge you to vote "No" on SB-131. This legislation does not protect all victims of child sexual abuse. In fact, it offers no protection to the 92 percent of children who attend public schools or for children in foster care or in other public settings. The only way to be able to protect students in public schools would be to eliminate sovereign immunity, an entirely different issue. In addition, SB 131 is a "first step" bill.

  We will never be able to fight abuse in the hugely powerful public arena until we build public awareness. To defeat the powers that be who control public entities, we need to prove that the problem is huge. SB131 is the only way to do that. And to imply that public school victims are "jealous" is infantile. Exposing ANY perpetrator is a huge step towards exposing ALL perpetrators. This bill discriminates against Catholic schools and other private employers. It could lead to reductions in the educational and social services provided by the Church and other nonprofits. What they don't say is that a majority of the funding for the church's social services come from contracts with local governments - using tax dollars.

  Besides, if there is enough sexual abuse to cause a reduction in spending for social services, shouldn't the church stop offering social services and fix the problem FIRST? Any legislation that seeks to deal with this grave problem should be applied to protect victims in all institutions in society - public and private- equally. See my above argument. Then the site allows you to add other "shortcomings."

  Letter writers are, however, unable to change the subject line of the email. Want to learn what the bill is REALLY about? Read this or this. If the Archdiocese spent as much time and money releasing documents, punishing wrongdoers and helping victims as they do trying to fight this bill, we wouldn't need SB131 in the first place. We can only wonder what else they are hiding.

  What can you do? Follow this link to write your legislators NOW and tell them you support SB131.

  - See more at:http://theworthyadversary.com/2129-as-sb131-heads-to-assembly-floor-la-archdiocese-spins-and-presses#sthash.1x9nYHub.dpuf
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  Sol Reform

  Wanna know why #USASwimming is spending $$ to block abuse victims' rights?

  http://theworthyadversary.com/2142-congress-asking-qs-about-dirty-pool-at-usa-swimming

  Congress asking q's about dirty pool at USA Swimming Posted by Joelle Casteix on August 27, 2013 in Child safety | Subscribe Because when you spend big $$ to fight child safety legislation in another state, you begin to look a little guilty ...

  USA Swimming has been forced to commission an independent review of its SafeSport program, after critics charged that coaches were not screened, abuse was rampant, and whistleblowers were punished for reporting.

  Latest reports say that even Congress is asking questions. Hmmm ... that might explain why USA Swimming is spending untold amounts to fight the California's Child Victims' Act - SB 131.

  When your current programs are (possibly) terribly flawed, who knows how polluted your past is? So you gotta make sure those kids NEVER get the chance to talk. Tell your Assembly Member NOW that you support SB131.

  - See more at:

  http://theworthyadversary.com/2142-congress-asking-qs-about-dirty-pool-at-usa-swimming#sthash.VaQ8577B.bm6RIL7c.dpuf
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  Sol Reform

  http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/civil-rights/319013-finally-congress-shows-interest-in-usa-swimming-sex-abuse-scandal

  Finally, Congress shows interest in USA Swimming sex abuse scandal By Tim Joyce - 08/28/13 01:00 PM ET

  It appears that the worst sex abuse scandal in the history of American sports is finally getting the attention it has demanded for decades. And Congress is taking notice.
  It's about time.
  
  USA Swimming, one of the crown jewel governing bodies of the United States Olympics Committee, has been overwhelmed with sexual abuse allegations by swimmers (often involving the most celebrated coaches in the sport) for years with nary a consequence for the organization. This abominable lack of accountability has been accomplished by utilizing the sheer weight of the Olympic movement and the fact that the media has been shamefully silent on this matter for too long.

  But after a series of recently publicized incidents - most notably the sentencing of legendary swim coach Rick Curl, and a spate of troubles, including past sexual abuse, at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club, the home club of Michael Phelps - it appears that accountability may finally be in order for an organization that has acted in much the same fashion as those in the Catholic Church who sought to cover-up their infamous scandal. The office of Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.) has requested the GAO to investigate, and on Wednesday Miller's staff is meeting with representatives of USA Swimming in a fact-gathering session.

  Speaking of the Catholic Church, in a stunning disclosure last month, USA Swimming admitted to hiring the very powerful California lobbying firm of Nielsen Merksamer to oppose a California Senate bill (SB131) that would have eased the statute of limitations constraints on victims of abuse.

  USA Swimming literally joined forces with Catholic Church lobbyists to defeat the bill. For USA Swimming to use their member-supported monies in an effort to derail legislation that would assist victims of sexual abuse is a frightening maneuver by a Congressionally created organization.

  California state senator Jim Beall from San Jose, one of the chief sponsors of SB131 stated, "I would suspect that (USA Swimming's) interest is from a concern that there may be some cases in which they're culpable. There's definitely smoke there that there's a problem. USA Swimming needs to decide if they're going to stand with the abusers of kids or the kids in their swim clubs. Which side of the street are they going to stand on? Because right now it seems like they're standing with the molesters and predators, that side of the fence."

  The operative phrase, "Congressionally created organization," is most crucial as it will give Miller's office the impetus it needs to launch a full investigation into USA Swimming after their meeting with USA Swimming officials - and their lobbyists - this week. It bears repeating that the USOC was formed by an Act of Congress in 1978; specifically the Amateur Sports Act of 1978, since updated in 1998 via the Ted Stevens Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, (36 U.S.C. Sec. 220501 et seq. of the United States Code) that officially declared the USOC as a governmentally chartered organization and created the governing bodies of the USOC.

  What is perhaps most depressing about this saga is that this is not a new issue and that the government should have been involved years ago. In an April, 2010 report, ABC 20/20 did a fine job of exposing the history of sexual abuse at USA Swimming. But aside from the occasional story of abuse by a swimming coach, there wasn't a call for a Congressional investigation.
  The sad fact is that nothing has truly changed.

  Over the last several years there have been numerous new alleged incidents of sexual abuse by USA Swimming coaches, and the pattern of avoidance and cover-up by USA Swimming officials continues unabated. Additionally, and perhaps more damning, there have been retaliatory tactics employed against those that want to shed a light on the abuse issue, and a concerted effort to stifle any negative media coverage of USA Swimming. Furthermore, a leaked internal memo from USA Swimming details their PR strategy moving forward, in an attempt to stifle further inquiries into the history of abuse.

  When one considers all of this, it begs the question - what took so long for Congress to get involved in the first place?
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  Sol Reform

  http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2013/08/kevin_vann_diocese_of_orange_sb131.php

  Orange Diocese Bishop Kevin Vann Doing His Damndest to Stop CA Bill that Would Help Child-Abuse Victims By Gustavo Arellano Fri., Aug. 30 2013 at 7:30 AM 7 Comments Categories: Ex Cathedra It's been almost a year now since Kevin Vann became bishop of the Diocese of Orange, and what has he accomplished? There was a profile in one of the Orange County Register's magazines that read like a press release. He approved the removal of memorial stones at the former Crystal Cathedral, memorial stones that the sheep of the Rev. Robert H. Schuller spent thousands to install under the idea they'd be up there for centuries. And now he's joining his fellow bishops in trying to defeat a California State Senate bill that seeks justice for child-abuse victims. SB 131 would open a one-year window lifting statutes of limitation so that victims of pedo-priests can file civil lawsuits against the Catholic Church regardless of when their abuse happened. A similar window occurred in 2002, exposing the Church as a pedophile factory. And that's why Vann doesn't want it to happen again. Under his direction, the Orange County Catholic, the "newspaper" of the Diocese of Orange, has published five articles opposing SB 131 since June, including a commentary from retired OC Superior Court Judge Francisco Firmat calling it "bad legislation," a column by Vann, and a whole other bunch of gobbledygook. The rag is pushing its stories on Twitter, and also retweets stories that support its view. This past week, Vann directed parish priests to send out emails to their congregation urging them to contact their state assemblymen to vote against SB 131. Vann's position? SB 131 discriminates against Catholics and does nothing to protect children. And why should you believe him? "Dioceses throughout California have worked to atone for past mistakes," Vann writes, "and have implemented robust procedures to ensure children and young people are as safe as we can make them." In other words: yeah, we let pedo-priests rape children, then covered it up. But NOW you should really, really trust us! Never mind that the reason they ever bothered to pretend to care for children raped by its priests was EXACTLY because the statute-of-limitations break in 2002 allowed victims to come forward to sue, and allowed lawyers to ask for personnel files that proved what so many had previously claimed were anti-Catholic conspiracies: that the Church protected pedophiles and never gave a damn about kids. And Vann's current push to shield the Orange diocese from further scrutiny only proves this anew. Heckuva job, Vanny!
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  Sol Reform

  http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2013/08/california-bill-sb-131-must-win-next.html

  California State Senate and Assembly representatives, please vote YES to SB 131...Contact/ Write to your State Senate and Assembly representatives - let them know you support the bill! Updated August 30, 2013 Children should not be treated as “less sacred, worth less or less important” than Popes, Bishops and priests and their “holy robes, sacred vessels and exclusive male-club basilicas and churches”. Children who are the most vulnerable and voiceless class in our American society should have first place in our State Senate legislature and Assembly and in every heart of all senators and representatives. It is the moral duty of the California State Senate and Assembly representatives to vote for SB 131 in order to expose ALL pedophiles (priests) - especially in court - with SB 131 and render the only justice which many of our suffering American children will ever know in their lifetime . California State Senate and Assembly representatives, you must render the final and only justice to victims of pedophiles (priests) in California - History has revealed to us as the largest numbers of victims from the systemic cover-up by the Roman Catholic Church. There are more victims out there, and therefore, you must release them from their prisons - secretly coerced and established by pedophiles (priests and their complicit Bishops). You hold the moral power to vote for this bill SB 131 which will be one of the most important bills you will ever pass in your life and which you shall bring to your grave - and unto your eternal life! We humbly invite all members, each member of the California State Senate and Assembly representatives who will vote for SB 131 - to listen – and ponder upon - this radio broadcast - of personal stories of victims of pedophile priests, albeit in Minnesota because the secretive Modus Operandi of all pedophiles (priests) are the same whether it be in Boston, Minnesota or Los Angeles, (click to listen) "Community Round Table" with New Director Bev Alquist” . There are also news updates below of more secret pedophiles (priest)s files in California, Iowa and Australia, see below. Please do not be complicit to the aftermath crimes of JP2 Army – the John Paul II Pedophile Priests Army named aptly after the longest reigned pope for 27 years who said nothing and did nothing to protect children from pedophiles and he did nothing to remove (not even one among countless) pedophile priests in California and in the USA. If you are complicit, the Sacrament of Confession will not save you because the Sacrament of Confession protects criminals and persecutes their victims (read our related article)http://popecrimes.blogspot.ca/2012/11/sacrament-of-confession-protects.html Children and women must not be “less sacred” than priests and their males’ only sacred robes and churches which have become crimes scenes of priest pedophilia. The secret hidden “living Hell” the pedophiles (priests) coerced on vulnerable voiceless children must be brought to light in California and - justice must be served NOW - for those voiceless victims. With your moral conscience - and compassionate hearts, vote YES to SB 131 because the crimes against American children systemically covered-up by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and throughout California must not be hidden in the dust of history -- nor must it be given the chance to be shredded and forgotten forever into oblivion ….
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  Sol Reform

  http://www.restorativejusticeinternational.com/child-victims-of-abuse-statute-of-limitations-sb-131-california-legislation/

  lisarea in Public Policy August 28, 2013 Child Victims of Abuse: Statute of Limitations (SB 131, California legislation) Since we have been vocal regarding sexual abuse of children and the need for restorative justice we believe that this legislation should be cited here at RJI. SB 131 authored by California Senator Jim Beall, and co-authored by Senator Ricardo Lara, gives a voice to victims of abuse that is needed. The legislation is currently in the California Assembly. A vote will be taken soon on the Assembly floor. We continue to be believe that each offender should be held accountable for the crimes he has committed. This is one way to provide relief for victims of abuse when it seems the justice system closes the door on such relief. Should there be a statute of limitations in cases of child victims of abuse? We are not so sure. RJI believes victims-driven restorative justice should be made available to every victim of crime, including cases of sexual abuse in the U.S. and globally. Restitution is not the only response to these crimes against children that is necessary, but in many cases it seems to be the only response. Ask victims of abuse what they would want and through our experience at RJI, and through our research, we have found that victims want far more than monetary compensation from their abusers, and those who have enabled the abuse. But this is an important step through this legislation in California. California is not alone in considering legislative change similar to SB 131. These battles are happening around the U.S. with strong opposition. It is also important to state that wherever abuse occurs of children, or adults, there should be swift action to respond to the abuse and stop it. No exceptions.
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  Sol Reform

  http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_24015628/assembly-passes-bill-allow-sex-abuse-lawsuits

  Assembly passes bill to allow sex-abuse lawsuits LAURA OLSON Associated Press Posted: 09/04/2013 01:32:33 PM PDT Updated: 09/04/2013 01:32:33 PM PDT

  SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The state Assembly has approved legislation that would open a one-year window for some victims of childhood sexual abuse to sue private or nonprofit organizations.

  The bill from Democratic Sen. Jim Beall of San Jose is similar to a 2002 measure passed amid the Catholic Church sex-abuse scandal. SB131 would lift the statute of limitations for a group of alleged victims who were 26 and older and missed the previous window to sue their abuser's employer. Opponents, including Catholic Church leaders, say the bill is unfair because it does not include public institutions. Democratic Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner of Berkeley says she was abused as a child and that it took her years to address what happened.

  The legislation cleared the Assembly on a 42-14 vote Wednesday and returns to the Senate for a final vote.