Last night (Friday) I attended a benefit here in Colorado for the Douglas County Women's Crisis & Family Outreach Center. It was a dinner called "The Empty Bowl" at the Douglas County Events Center. The empty bowl represents the empty place at the dinner table where a woman used to sit who was lost to domestic violence.
There were several hundred people there to raise money to help protect women from domestic violence. It turns out that domestic violence against women is rampant in Douglas County, which suggests to me that it is likely a problem all over Congressional District Six and America.
As the program for the evening said, "Domestic violence is not a private matter. It is a national, state, and foremost, a community issue. Domestic violence affects not just victims, but neighbors, coworkers, relatives, partners and friends. It crosses all age groups, all ethic groups, all socio-economic groups, and all genders. The consequences of domestic violence know no boundaries." Surely domestic violence is something we could all agree is a bad thing that we should fight against.
So I looked around to see if my opponent, Congressman Tom Tancredo, was in attendance. He was not, but then that's not surprising. Did you know that Mr. Tancredo was on of only FOUR members of the U.S. House of Representatives, out of 435, to vote AGAINST re-authorizing the Violence Against Women Act? This act is designed to reduce violence against women and contains important laws that protect women. What kind of man would vote against something like that? He can't even say he voted a party line, because with 431 House members voting yes, and only 4 saying no, it's clear that this was a non-partisan issue.
I don't read minds, so I can't say why Mr. Tancredo voted against this bill. Does he SUPPORT violence against women? That may be going too far, but I do think it's safe to say that he isn't particularly bothered by violence against women. I don't think he really cares about violence against women. And I don't think that really reflects how the people of Congressional District Six really feel about this important issue!
I am bothered by violence against anyone, and I will stand up for the right of women to be free from violence in their lives. I am also bothered by the fact that women do not have equality in America by any standard I can measure. And now we see a woman's right to make her own choices about her body under siege across America in state legislatures where predominantly white, wealthy, and male bodies pass laws that subjugate women.
Is this the future I gave ten years of my life to the military to defend? I don't think so! I intend to stand up for the rights and safety of women and let the chips fall where they may. I hope you will join me at the barricade. Our future depends on it!
Bill Winter
Colorado Congressional District 6
http://winterforcongress.com/