When Preventing Rape is Too Costly

I was absolutely at a loss for words when I came across this article at Think Progress about talking about how the American Action Forum was against new policies proposed by the Obama administration aimed at preventing rape and sexual abuse in the U.S.’s prisons. They complained that the measures were too “complicated” and “costly.” I was quite enraged by the response. We’re talking about preventing rape, for crying out loud, and they’re complaining it’s too complicated and costs too much. What the hell is going on?!

Obama and VAWA

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has been a controversial bill since it was first passed in 1994. It has been up for reauthorization multiple times since then, as well as facing a Supreme Court hearing. It’s been modified and changed along the way, including creating more gender-neutral language, including same-sex couples, and even eliminating some parts of it on the grounds that those parts were unconstitutional.

Newsweek Declares Obama First Gay President

Obama Newsweek Cover

Same-sex marriage has been in the news a lot lately. North Carolina voted to ban it, along with civil partnerships, and a day later Obama held an interview where he voiced his personal support for same-sex marriage. Although I am frustrated at the limits of the support Obama gave, I also understand that it is a pretty big symbolic victory, particularly considering the fact that we’re right in the middle of election season. I also understand those people who are heaping praise on Obama and are unwilling to criticize his statement as perhaps not going far enough. I get it.

Obama Personally Supports Same-Sex Marriage

Barak Obama

The relationship between federal and state laws in the U.S. is surprisingly complicated. Sometimes state and federal laws clash. Sometimes the federal government has to persuade state governments to enact certain laws. Rarely is the relationship as simple as federal trumps state. In many ways it’s a good system. The U.S. is geographically and culturally quite diverse, and the federal system we have helps ensure that the cultural and political norms of one region don’t overshadow the norms of another. However, as it’s a system that was created by people, it’s not perfect. There is one aspect to our system that I wish was more national instead of federal, and that is with regards to civil rights.