Hi, everybody, This is a call to political action on a current political issue that I felt would be of interest to many on this discussion list. If you're not interested, or think it's inappropriate on this discussion list, delete it.
Those of you who know me, know for me to forward anything to the discussion list is very rare indeed. I received this from my son & his wife, who homeschool their children. Others of you who also homeschool may have already received this from the HSLDA. I thought it worth passing on. I think it's significant that this would come up in an election year. It is highly unlikely it would receive sufficient support to pass if it hits the Senate floor. If it does pass, it would only be because Republican senators feared looking like they didn't support women's rights. If it doesn't, the democrats will try to make it a political issue and say the Republicans don't support women's rights. I've moved the links on which the HSLDA article is based to the top of the article, because quite frankly, I'm skeptical of many of the articles I receive warning about detrimental legislation. Most are months, or years, outdated and mostly inaccurate anyway. This one, however, is a current issue. Please consider contacting your senators. -----Original Message----- Subject: Home School Legal Defense Association <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: National Action Alert--CEDAW Vote Postponed Again Washington Post: Senate Panel to Defy Bush, Vote on Women's Treaty http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21765-2002Jul17.html The Washington Times: Review to 'delay' women's treaty http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020726-27598864.htm Dear HSLDA Members and Friends, On Thursday, July 25, 2002, The Senate Foreign Relations Committee again delayed a scheduled vote on the United Nation's Convention (treaty) on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The vote has been rescheduled for Tuesday, July 30. Chairman Joseph Biden has stated that the vote must come now in committee if the full Senate will have an opportunity to take up the treaty in September. We believe that a majority of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will vote in favor of CEDAW on Tuesday. CEDAW represents an astounding transfer of influence over a nation's domestic policy to the United Nations. It is a direct threat to those Americans who respect the traditional family and American way of life. CEDAW is administered by a 23-member committee of experts at the UN. Given the broad language of the treaty to eliminate "stereotypes" and "traditional roles of women," it is conceivable that the freedom of home schoolers could be in jeopardy. Let me illustrate why we are so concerned. In 1999, the CEDAW Committee recommended the decriminalization of prostitution in China. It has expressed concern that Belarus celebrates Mother's Day, and lectured Armenia on the need to "combat the traditional stereotype of women in the noble role of mother." The Committee has stated that too many Slovenian mothers were staying home to raise their children. It has urged the nation of Andorra to order a review of textbooks concerning sex education used by the Catholic schools, given that a majority of young women attend Catholic schools in that country. The Washington Times reports that earlier this year the CEDAW committee criticized Belgium for failing to achieve recommended political quotas for that country. In response, Belgian officials announced a new law reserving 50 percent of all candidate slots for women. Over 200 years ago, America fought a war so that we could decide issues of domestic policy for ourselves. We should not give this hard-fought right over to anyone other than our own elected representatives. Unlike some other nations, our Constitution places ratified treaties equal to the provisions of our Constitution and its bill of rights. CEDAW represents a direct threat to our nation's sovereignty. ACTION REQUESTED At this time, we urge all HSLDA members to contact the majority leader of the Senate, Tom Daschle of North Dakota, and the Senate minority leader, Trent Lott of Mississippi, and tell them that CEDAW should not be considered for ratification. We also urge everyone to call their Senators and urge them not to ratify CEDAW. To contact Senator Daschle, Lott and your Senators, you may access their number at www.hslda.org/toolbox , or contact the Capitol Switchboard at 202-225-3121. Feel free to pass this email around to your friends and family as well. Our sources on Capitol Hill tell us that many Senators are on the fence about CEDAW. We need to convince them how dangerous this treaty really is. BACKGROUND HSLDA Issues Folder on CEDAW http://www.hslda.org/docs/nche/issues/U/UN_Women.asp Thank you for standing with us for freedom! Sincerely, Tom Washburne Director, National Center for Home Education ... --------- End forwarded message ----------
