In late June, I attended a Bereaved Parents USA "gathering", which was held in Tampa, Florida. I would suggest that any bereaved parent attend one, if it is possible for you to do so. The gathering lasted about two and a half days, and was filled with sessions on various topics relating to being a bereaved parent. Each speaker and session leader was also a bereaved parent, and that seemed to make the presentations all the more heartfelt. If you click HERE you can visit the Bereaved Parents USA homepage. Sometimes, the link doesn't work, but just keep trying..... :-)

On June 12, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton issued a special call for Congress to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. Clinton also announced that the National Domestic Violence Hotline received nearly 500,000 calls from February of 1996 to May 31 of this year. "We are here today to send a clear message that, if we want to stop violence against women and protect the victims and prosecute those responsible, then we must reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act now," the First Lady said. Representatives of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and National Sheriffs Association, as well as bipartisan Members of Congress, joined her.

TX - The Changing Role of Law Enforcement in Ending Violence Against Women, a conference sponsored by the National Training Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence (NTCDSV), will be held in Austin, Texas from December 4 to December 6. The conference will offer 28 workshops in three tracks: cutting edge practices in law enforcement; advocacy; and law enforcement leadership. Workshops include: first responders program, promising practices in sexual assault investigation, forensic evidence collection and firearm laws. To receive a registration brochure, send your name and complete mailing address to John Dennis at NTCDSV via email: jdennis@ntcdsv.org, or fax a request for registration information to John at: 512/407-9022.

CA - The Los Angeles based Conrad N. Hilton Foundation reports that, during the fiscal year that ended February 2000, the Foundation awarded $3 million in new grants to combat domestic violence. The National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges received funds for nationwide implementation of its Model State Code on Domestic and Family Violence, the Seattle-based Center for the Prevention of Sexual and Domestic Violence received grants for national efforts to educate and train religious communities to address domestic and sexual violence, and the Family Violence Prevention Fund received money for its National Health Initiative on Domestic Violence.

MD - The Montgomery County Council's Office of Legislative Oversight issued a report last month that finds "significant shortcomings in the way the county handles domestic violence cases," reports the Washington Post. The report cited inadequate supervision of domestic violence offenders,failure to notify victims when their abusers are released from prison, and a lack of around-the-clock emergency protective orders. The report recommends establishing a multi-agency emergency response team to identify "high risk" cases. According to the report, county police responded to almost 8,000 domestic violence calls in 1999.

CO - The Lakewood Police Department has implemented a new system that will assist officers in processing and responding to domestic violence cases, reports the June 2000 edition of American City & County. The department developed a domestic violence registry that provides officers with comprehensive profiles when they respond to a domestic disturbance call. The profiles include information on previous emergency services calls, arrests, convictions, etc. The department also has created a mobile Victims Advocate Response Unit to provide immediate assistance to victims and their children after incidents of domestic violence. The Unit responds to the disturbance call with other police officers, and can transport a victim and her children to another location if necessary.

CA - An Alameda County jury convicted Daniel Mackay of voluntary manslaughter in the murder of his wife, Debby, despite the fact that he crushed her skull with a baseball bat and dumped her body in the Santa Cruz mountains. Voluntary manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison. The prosecution had pushed for a first-degree murder conviction, while the defense claimed Mackay killed his wife because she provoked him. Post-trial interviews with jurors revealed that some agreed that Mackay killed his wife "in the heat of passion," because he was provoked by her "infidelities, stormy moods and other foibles," reports the Sunday Times.

IL - A Chicago jury found Jamison Semla guilty of killing his unborn child by kicking Janette Bloniarczyk, who was then his wife, in the stomach just days before she was due to deliver. Semla was found guilty of intentional homicide of an unborn child, but was acquitted of attempting to murder Bloniarczyk. She testified "reluctantly" for the prosecution and said that Semla kicked her by accident, reports the Chicago Tribune. A conviction under the unborn child law carries the same penalty as murder in the state, 20 to 60 years in prison. Semla plans to appeal. The couple has one (living) child.

AZ - A new state law allows women imprisoned for killing their batterers to petition the Board of Executive Clemency to review their sentences, reports USA TODAY. To be eligible, the women must have been convicted before a 1992 law was passed that requires courts to consider evidence of domestic violence in their decisions.

Australia - A new survey finds that more than one-third of Australian teenage girls have experienced a violent dating relationship, with males using physical coercion to obtain sex, reports XINHUA News Agency. The survey of 5,000 people age 12 to 20 found that one in seven females said they had been raped, sexually assaulted or been in a situation where a boyfriend tried to physically force them to have sex. One in four females had been pushed, shoved or grabbed by a partner.

Pakistan - Military ruler General Pervez Musharraf announced steps to improve human rights in Pakistan, including "a move to deem 'honor killings' as murder," reports Reuters. In an honor killing, a male member of a family kills a female relative because he feels she has brought dishonor or shame to the family. The killings often are made in response to false claims of infidelity. Addressing a human rights convention, Musharraf said the Pakistani government "vigorously condemns the practice of so-called honor killings? Such actions do not find any place in our religion or law. Under Pakistan's penal law, killing in the name of honor is murder, and will be treated as such." Musharraf also announced plans to establish a commission on the status of women.

Below are some responses to the ruling in U.S. v. Morrison, in which the U.S. Supreme Court declared the Civil Rights Remedy of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (VAWA) unconstitutional.

Opposed to the Ruling:
"I am deeply disappointed. Because I continue to believe that there should be remedies for victims of gender-motivated violence, we plan to study the Supreme Court's decision in Morrison to determine the best means to help these victims. VAWA has provided funds to communities across the nation to address the tragedy of violence against women. These funds have made a > crucial difference in women's lives. Unfortunately, VAWA funding is only authorized until the end of fiscal year 2000. I have made the reauthorization and strengthening of VAWA a top legislative goal for this year. If we work together, we can enact a bill that will keep women in this country safe from violence."
--President Clinton, Statement, May 15, 2000

"With its 5-to-4 ruling overturning part of the Violence Against Women Act, the Supreme Court left women more vulnerable to gender-motivated violence. In so ruling, the court was unpersuaded by the extensive evidence that Congress had compiled to justify its use of the interstate commerce clause. The evidence demonstrated that violence extracted a heavy toll on the economy by hurting the productivity and mobility of female students and employees. In addition, the majority seemed oblivious to the fact that 36 states signed amicus briefs endorsing the act and Congress's power to enact it."
-- New York Times editorial, Violence Against the Constitution, May 16, 2000

"This is an astonishing ruling from a court that professes to care about democratic majorities and respect the political process. The justices did much more in this decision than sweep the act off the books. Under a pretense of interpreting the Constitution, they declared that they have the final say about the expediency of an important, and potentially very large, class of federal laws: not just laws under the Commerce Power, which constitute the bulk of modern federal legislation, but many other laws as well. For the limits of all Congress's powers turn eventually on judgments about the need for federal action."
-- Larry Kramer, New York University law professor, "The Arrogance of the Court", Washington Post Op/Ed, May 23, 2000

"Yes, it is common sense that rape is not commerce. But it is hardly common sense that Congress's power to promote commerce is so limited that it cannot legislate against a practice that costs the national economy billions of dollars annually, including the burdens of absenteeism and lost productivity? For the elected branches, the primary check of discretion is not judicial review, but political accountability... It's the Supreme Court, not Congress, that has gone too far. If Congress needs to be curbed, that is a job better left to voters."
-- Peter Shane, University of Pittsburgh law professor, "In Whose Best Interest? Not the States'", Washington Post Op/Ed, May 21, 2000

This information on domestic violence was reprinted and adapted, with permission, from , 'News Flash' , an online newsletter of the Family Violence Prevention Fund. I have found this on-line publication to be one of the most up-to-date sources of information about Domestic Violence.

If you know anyone who is in a relationship involving Domestic Violence, please urge them to get out of that situation as quickly as they can. There are safe houses -- places of refuge -- in most communities across the United States. Most local telephone directories have a section listing agencies offering help for victims of domestic violence. If that information isn't readily available, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or, for the hearing impaired, call 1-800-787-3224. These hotlines are open 24 hours a day, and are staffed by trained volunteers who can suggest places you can go for help.

My firstborn child, Lauren, is the reason I'm writing this column. Lauren was violently murdered by her husband on April 13, 1999. If you would like to know more about my beloved Lauren, you can visit the memorial web site I've made for her by clicking on the button below:

Click on the link above, to read Lauren's story.

If you know anyone who is in a relationship involving Domestic Violence, please urge them to get out of that situation as quickly as they can. There are safe houses -- places of refuge -- in most communities across the United States. listing agencies offering help for victims of readily available, you can call the 1-800-799-7233 These hotlines are open 24 hours a day, and are staffed by trained volunteers who can tell you where to go for help.

The links below can direct you to centers near you which provide assistance to domestic violence victims.

• National Domestic Violence Hotline
  Call: 1-800-799-SAFE
  TDD for the Hearing Impaired: 1-800-787-3224

• State Domestic Violence Coalitions

• Violence Against Women Office