Survivors seeking safety and justice for themselves and their children through family court and other legal systems may instead encounter their partners’ misuse of court processes to further enact coercive control.
by pbcnow 
NOW Proudly Celebrates Pride Month In June
Released on
Statement by NOW President Christian F. Nunes
Each June, NOW members join in celebrating Pride Month, the yearly commemoration to uplift LGBTQIA+ rights and honor the significant victories achieved since the historic Stonewall Uprising in June 1969.
The Stonewall Inn, now a national monument, was one of the most popular gay bars in New York City, at a time when homosexuality was considered a criminal offense, and many gay establishments had to operate without liquor licenses—which meant a constant threat of police raids and brutality. The Stonewall Inn had been raided on average once a month leading up to the raid on June 28, 1969.
But that night, as officers started to push customers and workers into police vehicles, instead of quickly heading home as they had during earlier police raids, this time those who hadn’t been rounded up began cheering those who had. Crowds grew outside the building and protesters started to push back. Officers barricaded themselves into the bar and called for reinforcements. More clashes shook the neighborhood over the next few days.
In the weeks and months to come, scores of activist groups and community initiatives were launched which led to the first Pride marches in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco on June 28, 1970, one year after Stonewall. Today, we continue this tradition and salute the courage of the millions who work tirelessly for equality.
LGBTQIA+ rights are one of NOW’s six core issues, and NOW is committed to fighting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in all areas, including employment, housing, public accommodations, health services, child custody, and military policies.
While this month is a time to celebrate accomplishments and progress, much more needs to be done. We are seeing a horrific rise in discriminatory attacks based on gender, including hateful laws targeting students’ gender identity. We must pass the Equality Act which provides much needed civil rights protections for LGBTQIA+ people and families.
There can be no equality for any of us if there is no equality for all of us. Everyone must have equal access to the same rights—regardless of their sexuality or gender identity.
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The National Organization for Women (NOW) is the nation’s leading membership-based advocacy group dedicated to defending women’s rights, advancing equality and combating injustice in all aspects of social, political and economic life. Through educating, mobilizing, and convening a vast network of grassroots activists across the country, NOW advocates for national, state and local policies that promote an anti-racist and intersectional feminist agenda. Since its founding in 1966, NOW has been on the frontlines of nearly every major advancement for women’s rights and continues to champion progressive values today. More about NOW’s efforts and resources is available at NOW.org.
Contact: Press Team, press@now.org,
Mother of boy killed in Fort Lauderdale condo holds memorial on 1-year anniversary of murder-suicide
From NEWS7 Miami:
“I really just hope that people become aware of all of the flaws that are in our family court system, and that when a parent says that they’re in danger, that they are believed and that we always put children’s safety first,” she said.
Police said Greyson was shot and killed inside the Fort Lauderdale condominium unit of his father, 47-year-old John Stacey, on May 21, 2021.
Investigators said Stacey then turned the gun on himself.
At Saturday’s memorial, attendees released butterflies in Greyson’s memory.
by pbcnow
NOW Honors George Floyd Remembrance Day
Released on
Today marks the two-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. However, there has been little movement on police reform since the horrific tragedy. Police still kill Black people at higher rates than other groups and corporations that once proclaimed that Black Lives Matter continues to bolster and fundraise for political candidates who spew racist propaganda.
Since George Floyd’s murder, Black Americans and other minority groups have grown more fearful of police brutality while legislators have only made empty, symbolic gestures to address this deep-rooted issue. A Washington Post poll found that although there was an increased focus on police reform directly after Floyd’s murder, 41 percent of Black Americans feel like nothing has changed.
There is no denying that racism is embedded into our founding institutions and pervasive throughout our society. Racism can no longer be an American value. After many failed attempts in Congress to enshrine a system of accountability, President Biden signed an executive order that will “increase accountability, ban chokeholds, restrict no-knock entries, and more for federal law enforcement officers”. President Biden also called for local officers to integrate his framework. While this action is an important step forward, it is not a permanent solution and doesn’t address issues within local police forces. Congress needs to step up because the stakes couldn’t be higher.
When interacting with law enforcement, Black Americans are too frequently presumed guilty and never get a chance to prove their innocence because a police officer could be their judge, jury, and executioner at a traffic stop. In contrast, self-declared white supremacists are given the benefit of the doubt despite perpetrating unimaginable and horrific crimes. Just last week, a racist domestic terrorist slaughtered 10 people at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo. Prior to the shooting, he actually published his plans to kill Black people in a 180-page manifesto.
The suspect of this massacre was met with a civilized escalation of force and will be afforded the “luxury” of due process. George Floyd, however, lost his life over a counterfeit $20 bill. No one should be at risk of losing their life to the people who are sworn to protect them.
The Washington Post poll also shows that three-quarters of Black Americans worry that they or a loved one will be attacked because of their race, with just 8 percent reporting they are “surprised” by racist attacks. What’s more, 70 percent of Black Americans believe that at least half of white Americans hold white supremacist beliefs, and 66 percent see white supremacy as a bigger problem today than it was five years ago. If you are Black in America, safety is an unfamiliar concept.
As we remember George Floyd, we must also think of his children, who meant so much to him. They must not continue to grow up in a society that enables racism and dismisses murderous behavior. NOW members are working hard to dismantle structurally racist and inequitable systems at every level of our society and every street corner in neighborhoods like the one where George Floyd was murdered two years ago.
As NOW honors his life, many states, cities, and communities across the nation will mark this solemn occasion with tributes, events, and gatherings as part of a Day of Remembrance for George Floyd. NOW members will be participating in these observances as part of our commitment to an antiracist, intersectional feminist agenda -a commitment that is more urgent and essential than ever before.
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The National Organization for Women (NOW) is the nation’s leading membership-based advocacy group dedicated to defending women’s rights, advancing equality and combating injustice in all aspects of social, political and economic life. Through educating, mobilizing, and convening a vast network of grassroots activists across the country, NOW advocates for national, state and local policies that promote an anti-racist and intersectional feminist agenda. Since its founding in 1966, NOW has been on the frontlines of nearly every major advancement for women’s rights and continues to champion progressive values today. More about NOW’s efforts and resources is available at NOW.org.
Contact: Press Team, press@now.org,
by pbcnow
The Senate Failed Women Today — But Women Will Not Fail This November
Released on
Statement by NOW President Christian F. Nunes
WASHINGTON, DC–The U.S. Senate voted down the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) today, which would have allowed abortion access to continue across the country if the Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade . Once again, the male-dominated, Senate has shown that it cares more about controlling women and taking away their bodily autonomy than protecting their health and safety.
Even before this vote, the leak of Justice Alito’s draft opinion in the Mississippi abortion case emboldened state legislatures to unleash a tidal wave of cruelty, punishing women. Extreme right-wing legislators are advocating for and passing law after law to criminalize abortion with no exceptions for rape and incest, prohibit travel to other states for abortion care, restrict access to abortion pills, and even make some forms of contraception illegal.
These laws disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous and other people of color who already face barriers to accessing health care, along with those with low incomes, immigrants, young people, people with disabilities, the LGBTQIA+ community, and those living in rural and other medically underserved areas.
Today’s Senate doesn’t have the courage, vision or commitment to vote for women’s lives—but we do. NOW members are determined to make the upcoming midterm elections a referendum on women’s health and safety. We must elect a filibuster-proof abortion rights majority to the Senate, and stop these cruel, misogynist attacks on women’s rights.
# # #
The National Organization for Women (NOW) is the nation’s leading membership-based advocacy group dedicated to defending women’s rights, advancing equality and combating injustice in all aspects of social, political and economic life. Through educating, mobilizing, and convening a vast network of grassroots activists across the country, NOW advocates for national, state and local policies that promote an anti-racist and intersectional feminist agenda. Since its founding in 1966, NOW has been on the frontlines of nearly every major advancement for women’s rights and continues to champion progressive values today. More about NOW’s efforts and resources is available at NOW.org.
Contact: Press Team, press@now.org,
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