To Save Lives--As Many Lives As Possible.

Dear Readers, I am passing on this e-mail because it is too important not to, since ending the crime of Rape would prevent many Abortions, which I believe as President Clinton said, 'Should be Legal, Safe and Rare.' Since Preventing un-wanted pregnancies is the ultimate goal and adoption is the better alternative, but not always possible--The worst case scenario--in my opinion-is an illegal abortion where both mother and child die--I would rather minimize the loss of life, NOT Maximize it;

"We need to tell men to stop raping women."

That is what Zerlina Maxwell--the latest target of right-wing media--is being visciously attacked for saying since she appeared on Fox News last week.¹

We all know the kind of sexist treatment major female political leaders, like Hillary Clinton, face.² And last year we saw just how vitriolic the right-wing media could be when Rush Limbaugh repeatedly attacked Sandra Fluke for speaking out on birth control.³

Zerlina Maxwell, their latest target, is a rape survivor, a progressive, an African-American writer and a frequent guest on political talk shows. But most importantly to them: She had the nerve to suggest that rape is the responsibility of rapists, not their targets. That instead of arming women with assault rifles to protect them from rape, we should as a society teach men not to rape and address the culture that makes rape so pervasive in our country.⁴ And the response has been ugly.

This is hardly a controversial position to take--there are already men's groups like Ring the Bell and Men Can Stop Rape who are working to change rape culture.⁵ But ever since that appearance Maxwell has faced heavy harassment. People have posted on the internet that she should be raped and murdered, called her horrible, racist epithets and more.⁶

But she's not backing down. And she deserves our thanks. All too often women are shouted down and harassed for speaking out--a cynical attempt to silence them. And if we want women to keep speaking out and standing up, we need to thank them and let them know that there are tens of thousands of us who have their backs. Can you sign the petition and leave a note for Zerlina, thanking her for her bravery? We will send her every last signature and comment we gather this week.

Add your thanks to Zerlina Maxwell right away.

The things that have been said about Zerlina Maxwell since her comment on Fox News last week are shocking and disgusting. Her common-sense approach to addressing our country's pervasive problem with sexual assault was called "bizarre" by the Blaze⁷, was completely mischaracterized by the Washington Times⁸, and she's been attacked with disguising insults on blog after blog.

But some of the worst attacks have come on social media, where her Facebook and Twitter accounts have been inundated with hundreds of people have calling for her to be raped, killed, and more. The attacks are blatantly racist and horribly misogynist. One person tweeted to her "I hope you get raped and your throat slit. May be then you understand why white women have to be armed. DIE B----!" Another said on Facebook "Ur what's wrong with America. I hope you get raped. And killed. By an out of control black man."⁹

Zerlina was right: the extreme right-wing message that was promoted on Fox News, in Congressional hearings, and elsewhere recently--that women should arm themselves with assault rifles to protect themselves from potential attackers--puts the responsibility for preventing violence against women on women, not on the perpetrator.¹⁰ We should be teaching men not to rape, and that a rapist is the only person who is responsible for the crime they commit. And studies show she is right: anti-rape campaigns that have targeted men have shown great results in reducing sexual assault.¹¹

It was courageous of Zerlina to speak out on Fox News, and it's important that we don't let these racist, misogynist attacks be the loudest response to her message. We need women like her to keep speaking up--and when they do, we need to support them. Can you sign the petition and leave a note to thank her for speaking out? We'll send your message of support to her this week.

           Sign the petition to support Zerlina Maxwell right away.

           Thanks for speaking out.

            Nita, Shaunna, Kat, Malinda, and Karin, the UltraViolet team

 Dear Readers I am also passing on this e-mail>>

When Rep. Paul Ryan was describing his plan to turn Medicare into a voucher program earlier today, he actually said, "We're not going to give up on destroying the health care system for the American people."
Please click here to watch the video, and then share it with friends over Facebook, Twitter or another social network. Ryan's Freudian slip really tells the truth about the Republican plan for Medicare, and we need to spread it far and wide.
Keep fighting,
Chris Bowers, Daily Kos

After all, These Right-Wing Wing-Nuts Need To Wake Up and Smell The Coffee!!!! This Will Drive More And More Women To Have Abortions. After all, IF It Will Cost Her More Money Than She Has To Give Birth To The Child--How many more will have to chose an Abortion, instead, or how many will stop going to hospitals.  Without Affordable Health Care, How can anyone afford the Adoption Option?!?!?!?  This Will Make Adoption a luzury that few poor women will be able to afford and thus promote More and More Abortions.

Dear Reader, that is why I am also including>>>>

Thanks to you and more than 1.4 million others who demanded it, we have a plan.

President Obama and Vice President Biden heard your call and proposed a comprehensive strategy to fight gun violence. And now bills have been introduced in both houses of Congress to make those priorities into laws that will save countless lives. But our work is far from done.

The time has come to Demand Action from Congress.

We need to require criminal background checks every time a gun is sold. We need to take military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines off our streets. And we need to make gun trafficking a federal crime with tough penalties.

An overwhelming majority of Americans support common sense gun reform. But to make sure they stand up to the gun lobby and pass legislation, your members of Congress need to hear from you.

Watch this short video featuring mayors across the country and call your members of Congress today to Demand Action to End Gun Violence.

 

Mayors can do a lot to maintain public safety. But when guns are crossing state lines and gun traffickers are exploiting loopholes to avoid background checks, it's time for a national solution.

That’s why today, more than 900 mayors have joined together to say: Enough. And more than 1.4 million supporters like you have joined together to tell Washington that the time has come.

Join us in calling Congress and Demanding Action to End Gun Violence:

http://DemandAction.org/JoinUs

Thank you for joining this fight,

Mark Glaze
Mayors Against Illegal Guns