City urges state to pass gender violence act

City urges state to pass gender violence act

Just hours after the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, ruled that rape victims can't sue their attackers in federal court, Leslie Landis, a spokesperson for the mayor's administration, Monday urged Illinois lawmakers to pass the Gender Violence Act.

Landis, who is project manager for the Mayor's Office on Domestic Violence, told the Chicago Defender that the Gender Violence Act, introduced by Rep. Sara Feigenholtz (D-12th) should be approved by state lawmakers.

"We now need to make this pass," Landis said. "It is vital that we pass this legislation so victims (of rape) have the right to sue their attacker in state court."

However, that wasn't how the High Court saw this issue for the justices ruled against a part of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act and virtually said it's an issue that should be considered at the state's level.

Landis said Illinois, in having such an Act introduced, "is in the vanguard" on the issue of rape victims suing their attackers.

However, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who gave the majority decision, said: "Gender-motivated crimes of violence are not, in any sense of the phrase, economic activity. Thus far in our nation's history, our cases have upheld commerce clause regulation of intrastate activity only where that activity is economic in nature."

He said if Congress "may regulate gender-motivated violence, it would be able to regulate murder or any other type of violence, (and) family law and other areas of traditional state regulation.

"The Constitution requires a distinction between what is truly national and what is truly local. The regulation and punishment of intrastate violence that is not directed at the instrumentalities, channels or goods involved in interstate commerce has always been the province of the states."

Referring to the petitioner, former Virginia Tech student Christy Brzonkala who sued two football players she claimed raped her in a dormitory room, Rehnquist said "if accepted, (Brzonkala's) reasoning would allow Congress to regulate any crime as long as the nationwide, aggregated impact of that crime has substantial effects on employment, production, transit or consumption."

Still referring to Brzonkala's allegations, the justice added: "If the allegations here are true, no civilized system of justice could fail to provide her a remedy for the conduct of respondent (Antonio) Morrison (whom she sued accusing him and James Crawford, another student athlete of allegedly raping her).

"But, under our federal system that remedy must be provided by the commonwealth of Virginia, and not by the U.S."

The justice added: "Gender-based violence in the 1990's was shown to operate in a manner similar to racial discrimination in the 1960's in reducing the mobility of employees and their production and consumption of goods shipped in interstate commerce.

"Violence against women may be found to affect interstate commerce and affect it substantially.

"Today's majority, however, finds no significance whatever in the state support for the act based upon the states' acknowledged failure to deal adequately with gender-based violence in state courts, and the belief of their own law enforcement agencies that national action is essential."

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