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Praise for Franken's 'anti-rape' amendment


Oct. 21: Rachel Maddow is joined by former KBR employee and rape survivor, Jamie Leigh Jones, and her attorney Todd Kelly to talk about the importance of Senator Al Franken's 'anti-rape' amendment and the disturbing number of Republican Senators who voted against it.


www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/vp/33423952#33423952


HEY LADIES: Check out the number of senators who voted AGAINST this amendment passing...and give them a call!

What possible justification could there be to vote against this bill?

there is no justification

I don't get it. So are you saying that because there is a bill it will deter certain people from commiting this type of crime? And Honestly shouldn't legal punishment be a given for this type of crime? Do we really need yet another amendment that amounts to jack squat? imo

so we need to make a bill for something that goes with out saying? Thats all I mean. imo and no the site was yellow on my computer(which for my computer means it's an unsafe sight. Maybe it needs a different name, cause the one it has now imo just seems like common sense!!

bigtime, i don't quite understand what you are saying, i do understand when you are notified about an unsafe site, but i do not understand the rest of your post, can you explain, thanks

Im not really sure how to explain it. I just mean that it's common sense( I think). It goes with out saying imo that those who perpetrate that type of crime and others deserve to pay their time. I don't get why we have to write an amendment for something that imo should be common sense!! But if it needs to be an amendment to make people act as they should so be it, but unfortunatley certain sickos might not be put off by this!! Look at the guy who kidnapped that Jaycee girl. How did the law work out for her? or he family? It took 18 years!!

8) ummm...ok, I will put mo this way. If there is no specific law on the books to handle this situation the defenant will not be sentenced properly. If it is not specifically documented as a crime there are hundreds of technicalities that an attorney can use to get any possible charges dropped. Happens everyday all over the country. Not fair but entirely legal.

This is from an e-mail I received from Al Franken on 10/7/09, if after reading this, which gives a pretty detailed account of what happened, people still can ot understand the reason for this...then what can I say!

"Last Thursday, I offered an amendment to the 2010 Defense Appropriations Bill that would stop funding defense contractors who deny victims of sexual assault their day in court. My efforts were inspired by Jamie Leigh Jones, whose story is a chilling call-to-action, and whose actions to right this wrong a stunning profile in courage.

When Jamie was 19, she was working for then Halliburton subsidiary KBR in Iraq, where she was placed in a barracks with 400 men. She complained about sexual harassment, but KBR took no action and she was eventually drugged and gang-raped by co-workers. When she tried to report what had happened, KBR locked her in a shipping container under armed guard. One of her guards smuggled her a cell phone, which she used to call her dad. Her dad and her Congressman got her back to the States.

Once Jamie was back with her family, she discovered that the fine print in her contract with KBR prevented her from taking her case to court. Since then, she's been telling and retelling her story around the country, fighting on behalf of victims of sexual violence.

Yesterday, by a vote of 68-30, the United States Senate adopted the Jamie Leigh Jones Amendment, ensuring that employers cannot unfairly force victims of sexual assault into arbitration. While Jamie's fight is not over, from now on victims will have a better shot at seeking something that far too often eludes them: justice.

I was honored and humbled to play a small role in seeing this amendment passed, and am so pleased to let you all know today that while Minnesota, and the country, face serious challenges, we're making some progress on standing up for those who have previously been without a voice in Washington.

Thanks so much for your support, I'll be sending more updates soon.

All the best,



Al"

To call for an amendment to address this crime, one would have to know what is covered in the United States Constitution! Rape, per se, is not covered in the Constitution, as is, no other crime. It is left to each state to determine specific punishment for each and every crime. Trial by jury or judge is guaranteed in the Constitution!

The officials we elect to office...i.e. the judges, are the ones who determine type and length of punishment. It's up to us to elect the people, who have the requirements we desire, to office!

The Federal Government in some instances can take jurisdiction of any crime committed and try that person. This is how four police officers were eventually convicted in the Rodney King trial, when the state jury found them innocent!

We need to press our state governments to address the issue of proper sentencing! Our judges should be like minded in sentences involving heinous crimes! First and foremost, they should be concerned with protecting our children from predators. These are defenseless people who are at risk of coming into contact with a monster, at any time!

thank you baileysmommy for spelling it out for all of us