Feminist Caucus Archives 2012

Many thanks to the members of HSNM for supporting the formation of our own Feminist Caucus HSNM. Sylvia M. Ramos, M.D. is chairing our committee and spearheading a Pass the Era Campaign that has captured the energy of the entire AHA.

With the help of HSNM member Ashley Jordan and support from all of our impressive HSNM delegation to the AHA National Conference in New Orleans, I was honored to serve a variety of duties for the AHA Feminist Caucus, and to be tapped to Co-Chair the FC with Stephanie Downs Hughes.

What an honor to address the Annual Membership Meeting on behalf of the FC and to present the Humanist Heroine Award to Debra Sweet of World Can’t Wait.

Now that we are home, the hard work begins. Our new vision for our humanist Feminist Caucus is to organize on a local and state level to extend our reach and our impact in defending the rights of women; to network and mentor to help each other reach our full potential and assume positions of influence; and to partner with local women’s and social justice groups to demonstrate humanism in action.

We will be using this website to supplement the AHA Feminist Caucus Pages while we get our links and info sorted out.

Power to the People!

Zelda

May 2012: Announcing the Feminist Caucus HSNM

What is a Feminist Caucus?
“Feminist”- any person who believes in the political, economic and social equality of the sexes; pertaining to any organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests. “Caucus” – a meeting of a group of persons belonging to or supporting the same political or social movement.

The Mission of the Feminist Caucus HSNM is to advocate for and defend equal rights and opportunities for all women and all men everywhere. We invite you to “caucus” with us through online activism and at our public awareness events. (Membership in HSNM is not required; Men are welcome.)

These are our key action items:
* Press Congress to remove the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to allow 3 more states to ratify it so that it can become the law of the land.
* Provide the news media with education and critique on feminist issues to counter erroneous, misleading, inadequate and biased news coverage.
* Publicize and promote U.S. adherence to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
* Mobilize our network to participate in actions to resist or support, as appropriate, local or national legislation based on adherence to our stated mission.

The Feminist Caucus HSNM is a committee of HSNM and does not collect separate dues or require donations. Voluntary donations to help further our mission are gratefully accepted and are tax deductible as allowed by law. You can support our work by joining the HSNM and our Feminist Caucus. You can also help us in our phone/email campaign to bring us closer to full ratification of the ERA even if you are not an HSNM member, as a Friend of the Caucus. You may get on our Feminist Caucus HSNM mailing list by writing to President@HumanistSocietyofNM.org.

Thanks to all who attended our Launch Event on Saturday, May 26 at 10:00 A.M.
What: A free screening of Miss Representation, a film by Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
When: Saturday May 26, 2012, 10:00 a.m.
Where: UNM Campus, Anthropology 163, Albuquerque (Anthropology Building Auditorium). It’s easy! Enter UNM campus at Las Lomas, turn right and then left into the large parking lot (no permit needed on Saturday), which is just north of the Anthropology Building, enter through the left set of double doors; the auditorium will be on your left.
Who: Presented by the Humanist Society of New Mexico and Feminist Caucus HSNM in partnership with the UNM Women’s Resource Center.
Details: Free and open to the public. Meeting runs from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The film is 90 mins. There will be a break for refreshments and then discussion following the screening. Optional donations will be collected for the MissRepresentation.org call-to-action campaign.

We only need 3 of the 15 remaining states to ratify for the ERA to pass…
A message from Feminist Caucus HSNM Committee Chair,
Sylvia M. Ramos, M.D.

The Equal Rights Amendment states: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” It was passed by Congress in 1972, but fell 3 states short of the 38 states needed for full ratification under the U.S. Constitution. The first action of our FC-HSNM founding committee was to make calls to our congressional delegation in support of the effort to remove the deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to allow the additional three states needed to work towards ratification. We are now asking you, our friends, associates and fellow supporters of human rights to also join in this effort. Please call your congressional delegation and urge family and friends to do so also. We can do this.

Here is the Complete Text of the ERA:

Equal Rights Amendment
Section 1. Equality of Rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex.
Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.
Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

Are you living in a Yes State or a State of Denial?

These 15 states have not ratified the ERA – we only need 3 of them to ratify to meet the required 38. Why are these states denying women equal rights under the law?
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, N. Carolina, Oklahoma, Nevada, S. Carolina, Utah and Virginia